1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to data practices; medical records; 
  1.3             prohibiting a charge for copies of records required 
  1.4             for a Social Security Act claim; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1994, section 144.335, subdivision 5. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 144.335, 
  1.8   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 5.  [COSTS.] (a) When a patient requests a copy of 
  1.10  the patient's record for purposes of reviewing current medical 
  1.11  care or under paragraph (c), the provider must not charge a 
  1.12  fee.  When a provider or its representative makes copies of 
  1.13  patient records upon a patient's request under this section, the 
  1.14  provider or its representative may charge the patient or the 
  1.15  patient's representative no more than 75 cents per page, plus 
  1.16  $10 for time spent retrieving and copying the records, unless 
  1.17  other law or a rule or contract provide for a lower maximum 
  1.18  charge.  This limitation does not apply to X-rays.  The provider 
  1.19  may charge a patient no more than the actual cost of reproducing 
  1.20  X-rays, plus no more than $10 for the time spent retrieving and 
  1.21  copying the X-rays. 
  1.22     (b) The respective maximum charges of 75 cents per page and 
  1.23  $10 for time provided in this subdivision are in effect for 
  1.24  calendar year 1992 and may be adjusted annually each calendar 
  1.25  year as provided in this subdivision.  The permissible maximum 
  2.1   charges shall change each year by an amount that reflects the 
  2.2   change, as compared to the previous year, in the consumer price 
  2.3   index for all urban consumers, Minneapolis-St. Paul (CPI-U), 
  2.4   published by the department of labor.  
  2.5      (c) When a patient, the patient's attorney, or the Social 
  2.6   Security Administration requests a copy of the patient's records 
  2.7   for the purpose of supporting a claim or appeal under any 
  2.8   provision of the Social Security Act, the provider shall not 
  2.9   charge a fee.  The patient request shall be documented by a 
  2.10  written request from the patient's attorney, correspondence from 
  2.11  the Social Security Administration, or by a copy of a recent 
  2.12  application for social security benefits or a recent denial of 
  2.13  an application for such benefits.  A provider shall mail a 
  2.14  patient's record requested for the purpose of a claim or appeal 
  2.15  under the Social Security Act to the patient within 15 days of 
  2.16  the date of the request for the record.