1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health records; decreasing the cost a provider may charge a patient 
1.3 	for copying records;amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 144.292, 
1.4 	subdivision 6.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 144.292, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subd. 6.Cost. (a) When a patient requests a copy of the patient's record for 
1.8 	purposes of reviewing current medical care, the provider must not charge a fee.
1.9 	(b) When a provider or its representative makes copies of patient records upon a 
1.10 	patient's request under this section, the provider or its representative may charge the 
1.11 	patient or the patient's representative no more than 75 ten cents per page, plus $10 for time 
1.12 	spent retrieving and copying the records, unless other law or a rule or contract provide for 
1.13 	a lower maximum charge. This limitation does not apply to x-rays. The provider may 
1.14 	charge a patient no more than the actual cost of reproducing x-rays, plus no more than 
1.15 	$10 for the time spent retrieving and copying the x-rays.
1.16 	(c) The respective maximum charges of 75 ten cents per page and $10 for time 
1.17 	provided in this subdivision are in effect for calendar year 1992 and may be adjusted 
1.18 	annually each calendar year as provided in this subdivision. The permissible maximum 
1.19 	charges shall change each year by an amount that reflects the change, as compared to the 
1.20 	previous year, in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers, Minneapolis-St. 
1.21 	Paul (CPI-U), published by the Department of Labor.
1.22 	(d) A provider or its representative must not charge a fee to provide copies of records 
1.23 	requested by a patient or the patient's authorized representative if the request for copies 
1.24 	of records is for purposes of appealing a denial of Social Security disability income or 
2.1 	Social Security disability benefits under title II or title XVI of the Social Security Act. For 
2.2 	the purpose of further appeals, a patient may receive no more than two medical record 
2.3 	updates without charge, but only for medical record information previously not provided. 
2.4 	For purposes of this paragraph, a patient's authorized representative does not include units 
2.5 	of state government engaged in the adjudication of Social Security disability claims.