SB 423: Medical records; access; eliminating certain health care provider duties; authorizing certain fees. Effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from the House version to the Senate version, resulting in significant changes to medical record access fees, exemptions, and penalties. The Senate version simplifies fee structures, increases certain charges, and adds new provisions for unlawful conduct and penalties.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include provisions for making certain acts unlawful, creating misdemeanor offenses, and establishing administrative and criminal penalties, which were not present in the House version.

REQUIREMENT

Fee amounts were adjusted: the base fee for third-party requests changed from $20 to $23, and the maximum fee for electronic records increased from $200 to $270.

New requirements were added for electronic record delivery, including a $15 certification fee and a $20 fee for electronic media like CD/DVD.

ENFORCEMENT

New provisions were added to make certain acts unlawful, establish misdemeanor offenses, and provide for administrative and criminal penalties.

ELIGIBILITY

The definition of 'responsible family member' was simplified by removing the requirement that the relative must be 'actively involved in providing care' as verified by the healthcare provider.

SCOPE

The act's title was expanded to include provisions for making certain acts unlawful and creating misdemeanor offenses.

SB423 (3-24-25) (RADER) FS FA1.PDF → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

This document is a formatting conversion from a Senate bill draft to a House floor version, with no substantive policy changes. The text remains identical in legal content, though page numbers and headers were updated to reflect House processing.

TECHNICAL

Document headers and page numbers were updated to reflect House floor processing instead of Senate substitute format

Bill title was changed from 'FLOOR SUBSTITUTE' to 'COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR ENGROSSED' to indicate legislative stage

Sponsor attribution was updated to show Caldwell (Chad) of the House instead of Caldwell (Chad) of the House with Senate-only formatting

House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill → SB423 (3-24-25) (RADER) FS FA1.PDF · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Oklahoma's medical records access law to expand patient rights and clarify fee structures. It adds new provisions for accessing medical bills alongside medical records, defines 'responsible family member' for deceased patients, and updates fee limits and calculation methods to align with federal regulations while maintaining reasonable cost-based charges.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of accessible information to include medical bills, clarifies who can access records for deceased patients, and modifies fee structures for third-party requests and electronic records.

ELIGIBILITY

Added explicit right to access patient medical bills alongside medical records, previously not clearly specified.

Added definition of 'responsible family member' for deceased patients, including parents, adult children, adult siblings, or other adult relatives actively involved in patient care.

REQUIREMENT

Updated fee structure for third-party requests (attorneys, insurance companies) from $20 to $23 base fee plus per-page charges.

Modified electronic record delivery fees and clarified that no postage charge applies when records are transmitted electronically.

Increased maximum fee cap for electronic records from $200 to $270 plus postage or delivery fee.

TECHNICAL

Updated page numbering and formatting throughout the document from Committee Substitute to Floor Substitute version.

Engrossed → House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill revision updates the Oklahoma medical records access statute by modernizing fee structures, clarifying disclosure requirements for deceased patients, and adjusting fee limits to align with current federal regulations. The changes primarily affect how healthcare providers charge for medical records and who qualifies for access under specific circumstances.

Scope change

The bill maintains its core purpose of regulating medical records access but updates fee amounts and clarifies exemptions for certain types of records and third-party requests.

REQUIREMENT

Updated fee limits for medical records copies from $200 to $270 maximum charge, and adjusted per-copy fees to reflect current federal standards

Clarified that electronic transmission of records incurs delivery charges but no postage fees when transmitted electronically

Added specific language about fee applicability regardless of where records are physically located

ELIGIBILITY

Refined definitions for deceased patient access to clarify who qualifies as a 'responsible family member' for obtaining records

TECHNICAL

Reorganized statutory language structure and updated formatting to align with current legislative drafting standards

Introduced → Engrossed · 7 edits · Mar 26, 2025

MODERATE

This bill was amended from its original introduced version to its engrossed version, incorporating several substantive changes to medical record access fees and applicability. The main changes involve updating fee structures, adding new exemptions for certain types of record requests, and modifying the classification of offenses from felony to misdemeanor.

Scope change

The bill now includes additional exemptions for disability determination requests and clarifies applicability to third-party requests from attorneys and insurance companies.

REQUIREMENT

Fee limits for electronic medical record reproduction were increased from $200 to $270 maximum charge.

Base fees for third-party requests (attorneys, insurance companies) were updated from $20 to $23.

Electronic copy fees were added with specific rates: $0.67 for paper copies and $0.40 for electronic copies.

Added reference to 45 C.F.R. Section 164.502 for patient access entitlement requirements.

Electronic media fees for x-rays were updated from $20 to $23 per CD/DVD or electronic media.

ELIGIBILITY

New exemption added for Disability Determination Division requests from the State Department of Rehabilitation Services.

ENFORCEMENT

The offense classification was changed from felony to misdemeanor.

Medical records; access; eliminating certain health care provider duties; authorizing certain fees. Effective date.

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