Title: Medical Records Access Fairness Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Medical Records Access Fairness Act This bill prohibits health care providers from charging a fee for providing copies of individuals' protected health information. This prohibition does not apply to requests for a (1) duplicate of a copy that an individual has received within the past year, (2) nonelectronic copy that is otherwise available at no cost in electronic form through an online portal, or (3) copy to an attorney of an individual.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4698 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4698

To amend the HITECH Act to allow an individual to obtain a copy of such 
  individual's protected health information at no cost unless certain 
              circumstances apply, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 16, 2019

   Mr. Foster (for himself, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Raskin, and Mrs. Beatty) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the HITECH Act to allow an individual to obtain a copy of such 
  individual's protected health information at no cost unless certain 
              circumstances apply, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Medical Records Access Fairness 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS OF INDIVIDUALS TO PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION AT NO 
              COST UNLESS CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES APPLY.

    Section 13405 of the HITECH Act (42 U.S.C. 17935) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Access of Individuals to Protected Health Information at No 
Cost Unless Certain Circumstances Apply.--
            ``(1) Access of individuals to protected health information 
        at no cost unless certain circumstances apply.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In providing an individual (and, 
                if the individual expressly requests, a health care 
                provider or a family caregiver) with access to a copy 
                of such individual's protected health information (or a 
                summary or explanation of such information) in 
                accordance with section 164.524 of title 45, Code of 
                Federal Regulations, a health care provider may only 
                impose a fee on such individual if the individual is 
                requesting--
                            ``(i) a duplicate copy (or summary or 
                        explanation) of protected health information 
                        that was previously provided to such individual 
                        in the same calendar year of the request; or
                            ``(ii) a non-electronic copy (or summary or 
                        explanation) of protected health information 
                        that the health care provider has made 
                        accessible for the individual, at no cost, on 
                        an online portal of the health care provider.
                    ``(B) Copies transmitted to other health care 
                providers.--In the case of an individual who expressly 
                requests a health care provider to transmit to another 
                health care provider a copy of such individual's 
                protected health information (or a summary or 
                explanation of such information), such transmitting 
                provider may transmit such copy (or summary or 
                explanation) in any form and format to the extent that 
                such form and format is readily usable by such 
                receiving provider.
                    ``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
                subsection may be construed as requiring a health care 
                provider to provide, at no cost, a copy of an 
                individual's protected health information (or a summary 
                or explanation of such information) to any attorney of 
                such individual.
            ``(2) Regulations.--Not later than six months after the 
        date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services shall promulgate and amend 
        regulations as necessary to implement the requirements 
        described in this subsection.
            ``(3) Effective date.--This subsection shall apply with 
        respect to requests for access to protected health information 
        made on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this subsection.''.
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