S 1395 — MEDICAL RECORDS – Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding medical records and costs.

13951395, As Amended BY JUDICIARY AND RULES COMMITTEE AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL RECORDS;

AMENDING TITLE 39, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 73, TITLE 39, IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH PROVISIONS RE- GARDING THE COSTS FOR REQUESTING COPIES OF MEDICAL RECORDS, TO DEFINE A TERM, TO PROVIDE ANEXCEPTIONS, EXCEPTION FOR SOCIAL SECURITY ACT BENEFITS, AND TO REQUIREPROVIDE FULFILLMENTREQUIREMENTS WITHINFOR ANFULFILL- ESTABLISHEDMENT; TIMELINE;

or (b) A health care facility or itsthird-party agent.service.

(2)"A Uponthird-party theser- requestvice" ofmeans a patientservice orthat personhas authorizedentered byinto thea patient,contract with a health care provider shallto provide medicalpatient records andon maybehalf charge fees, which shall be the lesser of thea feeshealth allowedcare pursuantprovider. to the provisions of 45 CFR 164.524(c)(4) or pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection.

(2) Upon the request of a patient, patient's attorney, legal represen- tative, or third-party service authorized to receive records, a health care provider, health care facility, or third-party service shall provide medi- cal records and may charge reasonable fees pursuant to this section or other applicable law, whichever is less.

Such reasonable fees shall not exceed those provided in this subsection.

(i) A flatsearch fee of thirty dollars ($30.00);

(ii) Fifty-threeSixty cents (53¢)(60¢) per page for the first forty (40) pages and thirty-twothirty-six cents (32¢)(36¢) per page for each additional page;

orand (iv) The actual costs of sendingpostage to mail the records to the patient of the person authorized by the patient.

(i) A flatsearch fee of thirty dollars ($30.00);

(ii) Twenty-sevenThirty cents (27¢)(30¢) per page for the first forty (40) pages and sixteeneighteen cents (16¢)(18¢) per page for each additional page;

(iv) The actual costs of sendingpostage to mail the records to the patient or the person authorized by the patient;

orand (v) If the request is fulfilled within ten (10) days and the records are provided in a format that may be immediately viewed or downloaded, an additional fee of twenty dollars ($20.00).

(c) The entire fee charged pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsec-subsection tion shall not exceed one hundred fiftyseventy-five dollars ($150)($175) regardless of the number of pages provided or the original format of the original medicalmed- ical records.

(3) A health care providerprovider, health care facility, or third-party ser- vice shall provide one (1) free copy of a pa-patient's tient's medical records, includinginclud- ing mental health records, if requested by a patient, former patient, thepa- patient'stient's authorized attorney, legal representative, or thethird-party patient'sservice authorized representative,to receive records, for a qualified claim or appeal for benefits under any provision of the social security act.

For a subsequent copy of the patient's medical records in one (1) calendar year, provided that no additional medicalmedi- cal services have been rendered, a health care provider may charge the allowableallow- able rate pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.

and (b) Be fulfilleddelivered withinin thirtythe (30)electronic days.medium customarily used by the health care provider, the health care facility, or the health care provider's third-party service or in a universally readable image, such as portable document format, if the patient or the patient's attorney, legal representative, or a third-party service authorized to receive the records requests the record be delivered in an electronic medium;

and (c) Be fulfilled within thirty (30) days.

(5) A health care provider shall be exempt from the provisions of this section as long as the health care provider has less than fifty (50) em- ployees, is independently owned, is not associated with a hospital system or health care system, and does not contract with a third-party service to provide medical records.

(6) When a health care provider is governed by the standards for privacy of individually identifiable health information, the fees allowed shall be the lesser of those allowed pursuant to 45 CFR 164.524(c)(4) or the provi- sions of this section.