STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6891 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE December 6, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the public health law and the education law, in relation to requiring the transfer of medical records within sixty days of written request The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The first undesignated paragraph of section 17 of the 2 public health law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2017, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 Upon the written request of any competent patient, parent or guardian 5 of an infant, a guardian appointed pursuant to article eighty-one of the 6 mental hygiene law, or conservator of a conservatee, an examining, 7 consulting or treating physician or hospital must, within sixty calendar 8 days, release and deliver, exclusive of personal notes of the said 9 physician or hospital, copies of all x-rays, medical records and test 10 records including all laboratory tests regarding that patient to any 11 other designated physician or hospital provided, however, that such 12 records concerning the treatment of an infant patient for venereal 13 disease or the performance of an abortion operation upon such infant 14 patient shall not be released or in any manner be made available to the 15 parent or guardian of such infant, and provided, further, that original 16 mammograms, rather than copies thereof, shall be released and delivered. 17 Either the physician or hospital incurring the expense of providing 18 copies of x-rays, medical records and test records including all labora- 19 tory tests pursuant to the provisions of this section may impose a 20 reasonable charge to be paid by the person requesting the release and 21 deliverance of such records as reimbursement for such expenses, 22 provided, however, that the physician or hospital may not impose a 23 charge for copying an original mammogram when the original has been 24 released or delivered to any competent patient, parent or guardian of an EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14323-01-9S. 6891 2 1 infant, a guardian appointed pursuant to article eighty-one of the 2 mental hygiene law, or a conservator of a conservatee and provided, 3 further, that any charge for delivering an original mammogram pursuant 4 to this section shall not exceed the documented costs associated there- 5 with. However, the reasonable charge for paper copies shall not exceed 6 seventy-five cents per page. A release of records under this section 7 shall not be denied solely because of inability to pay. No charge may be 8 imposed under this section for providing, releasing, or delivering 9 medical records or copies of medical records where requested for the 10 purpose of supporting an application, claim or appeal for any government 11 benefit or program, provided that, where a provider maintains medical 12 records in electronic form, it shall provide the copy in either elec- 13 tronic or paper form, as required by the government benefit or program, 14 or at the patient's request. 15 § 2. Section 6530 of the education law is amended by adding a new 16 subdivision 51 to read as follows: 17 51. Failing to release and deliver copies of x-rays, medical records 18 and test records within sixty calendar days of written request pursuant 19 to section seventeen of the public health law. 20 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.