In Townsend v. ChartSwap, LLC, (2019AP002034), the District I Court of Appeals held that a record providing service was an agent of a health care provider, and therefore was bound by the statutory limits imposed on the health care provider.

Facts:

After an accident, Townsend requested her medical and billing records from Milwaukee Radiologists. ChartSwap, on behalf of Milwaukee Radiologists, provided the records, charging $35.78. However, Wis. Stat. § 146.83(3f)(b) provides a limit on how much a health care provider can charge for providing records. In this case, the statutory charge would have been $1. Townsend brought a class action suit against ChartSwap based on this practice. In the circuit court, ChartSwap was granted a motion to dismiss because Wis. Stat. § 146.83(3f)(b) only governs health care providers, and they are not one. Townsend appealed.

Discussion:

The court focused on reading the law in context of other laws. Specifically, the court turned to Wis. Stat. § 990.001(9), which deals with the use of an agent to satisfy statutory requirements. The court found that because ChartSwap was an authorized agent of Milwaukee Radiologists, who are a health care provider, ChartSwap is bound by the statutory prices for medical records. The court of appeals reversed and remanded.