A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM FEE FOR COPYING AND SEARCHING MEDICAL RECORDS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 90‑411 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90‑411.  Record copy fee.
(a)	A health care provider  or its third‑party copy services provider may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs incurred in searching, handling, and copying medical records for representatives authorized by patients. 
The fee for requests by authorized representatives shall be ninety cents (90¢) per page for the first 25 pages, seventy‑five cents (75¢) per page for pages 26 through 100, and twenty‑five cents (25¢) for each page in excess of 100 pages, provided that the health care provider or third‑party copy services provider may impose a minimum fee of up to  sixteen dollars ($16.00), inclusive of copying costs. These rates shall also apply for providing copies of medical records produced from records stored on microfilm, microfiche, or electronic media. Patients who request records on their own behalf, and their personal representatives as defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), will be charged only the rate permitted in HIPAA. Patients and their physicians who request records for continuing care (such as for treatment purposes) may not be charged for such requests. 
(b)	If requested by the patient or the patient's designated representative, nothing herein shall limit a reasonable professional fee charged by a physician for the review and preparation of a narrative summary of the patient's medical record. This section shall apply with respect to liability claims for personal injury, claims for social security disability, subpoenas, and requests by attorneys and insurers for medical records to be used for any purpose, except that charges for medical records and reports related to claims under Article 1 of Chapter 97 of the General Statutes shall be governed by the fees established by the North Carolina Industrial Commission pursuant to G.S. 97‑26.1. Actual postage may be charged in each instance. This section shall not apply to requests made by the Department of Health and Human Services Disability Determination Services requests for copies of medical records made on behalf of an applicant for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income disability."
SECTION 2.  Effective January 1, 2010, G.S. 90‑411, as amended by this act, reads as rewritten:
"(a)	A health care provider or its third‑party copy services provider may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs incurred in searching, handling, and copying medical records for representatives authorized by patients. The fee for requests by authorized representatives shall be ninety cents (90¢) per page for the first 25 pages, seventy‑five cents (75¢) per page for pages 26 through 100, and twenty‑five cents (25¢) for each page in excess of 100 pages, provided that the health care provider or third‑party copy services provider may impose a minimum fee of up to eighteen dollars ($18.00), inclusive of copying costs. These rates shall also apply for providing copies of medical records produced from records stored on microfilm, microfiche, or electronic media. Patients who request records on their own behalf, and their personal representatives as defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"), will be charged only the rate permitted in HIPAA. Patients and their physicians who request records for continuing care (such as for treatment purposes) may not be charged for such requests. 
(b)	If requested by the patient or the patient's designated representative, nothing herein shall limit a reasonable professional fee charged by a physician for the review and preparation of a narrative summary of the patient's medical record. This section shall apply with respect to liability claims for personal injury, claims for social security disability, subpoenas, and requests by attorneys and insurers for medical records to be used for any purpose, except that charges for medical records and reports related to claims under Article 1 of Chapter 97 of the General Statutes shall be governed by the fees established by the North Carolina Industrial Commission pursuant to G.S. 97‑26.1. Actual postage may be charged in each instance. This section shall not apply to requests made by the Department of Health and Human Services Disability Determination Services requests for copies of medical records made on behalf of an applicant for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income disability.
(c)	Not later than the first day of January of each year, beginning January 1, 2012, any amounts permitted to be charged under this section shall be increased or decreased by the average percentage of increase or decrease in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (United States City Average, All Items), prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (Bureau), for the 12‑calendar‑month period prior to the immediately preceding first day of January over the immediately preceding 12‑calendar‑month period, as reported by the Bureau. The Department of Health and Human Services shall make this determination, adjust the amounts accordingly, and post them on its Web site no later than January 1 of each year beginning in 2012."
SECTION 3.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2009.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.