Bill Description: Senate Bill 1087 would require health care providers to provide patients a no-fee copy of their medical records.
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NOTE: Senate Bill 1087 is related to Senate Bill 1395 (2024), Senate Bill 1353 (2024), Senate Bill 1346 (2022), and others, which have all proposed government mandates and regulations related to providing medical records.
Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?
Senate Bill 1087 would create Chapter 73, Title 39, Idaho Code, to mandate that health care providers "provide one (1) free copy of a patient's medical records, including mental health records, if requested by a patient, former patient, the patient's authorized attorney, or the patient's authorized representative to support a qualified claim or appeal for benefits under any provision of the social security act."
It would further require that "any request made pursuant to this section shall be fulfilled within thirty (30) days in an electronic format, if available." It would allow a paper copy only if "an electronic format is unavailable."
A narrow exception would be created for a health care provider that has fewer than 50 employees, is independently owned, and "does not contract with a third-party service to provide copies of medical records." (All three elements of this test would have to be met for the exemption to apply.)
Of course, there really is no such thing as a "free" copy of a patient's medical records because preparing and sending records requires significant time and money. Government mandates can't make this process free, so instead, the state will force providers to bear the cost of providing these records by prohibiting them from charging their patients a fee for the service provided.
Government should not force providers to work for free or impose arbitrary timelines on them. If a business charges too much or takes too long, the proper remedy is for its clients to seek market alternatives, not for the government to meddle in the process.
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