Senate Bill No. 239
(By Senator Hunter)
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[Introduced March 5, 1997; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article twenty-nine,
chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to copying
medical records and permitting indigent persons and their
authorized representatives to obtain free copies of medical
records to support their applications for social security
disability or supplement security income benefits.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article twenty-nine, chapter sixteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 29. HEALTH CARE RECORDS.
§16-29-2. Reasonable expenses to be reimbursed.
(a) The provider shall be reimbursed by the person requesting in writing a copy of such the records at the time of
delivery for all reasonable expenses incurred in complying with
this article. However, such cost shall may not exceed
seventy-five cents per page for the copying of any such record or
records which have already been reduced to written form and a
search fee not to exceed ten dollars.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, a provider may not impose a charge on an indigent
patient, his or her authorized agent or authorized representative
if the records are necessary for the purpose of supporting a
claim or appeal under any provisions of the Social Security Act.
Patients represented by organizations whose purpose is to provide
legal assistance to the indigent or represented by persons with
an affiliated pro bono program shall be presumed indigent. A
provider may require reasonable proof of indigencey from any other
patient.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to enable indigent persons
and their authorized representatives to obtain free copies of
medical records to support their applications for Social Security
disability or Supplemental Security Income benefits.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.