Bill > S2274

Introduced Session

This bill would limit fees charged to patients, patients' legally authorized representatives, and other authorized third parties by hospitals and health care professionals for electronic or paper reproductions of medical or billing records. Pursuant to the bill, total costs for reproductions of a medical record, whether the record is stored electronically, on microfilm or microfiche, or on paper, are capped at $50, inclusive of any additional administrative fees charged by the hospital or health care professional for reproducing the requested records. The bill additionally prohibits hospitals and health care professionals from assessing a fee for copies of a patient's billing record if the record is requested by the patient himself, the patient's legally authorized representative, or an authorized third party. Current statute, pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2019, c.217 (C.26:2H-5n), limits fees charged by general, special, and psychiatric hospitals for copies of patient medical or billing records at $200 per request. These fee limits, however, do not extend to medical records requested from health care professionals, such as a physician practice, a psychotherapist or a dentist. Pursuant to current statute, hospitals may additionally assess a variety of administrative fees for copies of patients' medical and billing records, such as a $10 records search fee, a surcharge for reproductions of x-rays or other materials that are difficult to reproduce on a commercial photocopy machine, a $10 fee per certified copy of a medical or billing record, and any postage and delivery charges. It is the intent of the bill's sponsor to facilitate access to patient medical and medical billing records for New Jersey residents and their authorized representatives. Although low-income patients may access copies of their medical records free-of-charge, the exorbitant copying and administrative fees charged by some New Jersey hospitals for patient records prove to be a financial burden for many moderate-income patients.

Committee Categories

Vin Gopal (D)*,  Nick Scutari (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document