Bill > HB590

This bill addresses electronic health care records by requiring health carriers (insurance providers) to establish and maintain several specific application programming interfaces (APIs) that comply with federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services standards. These APIs include patient access, provider directory, provider access, payer-to-payer exchange, and prior authorization interfaces, which are designed to improve information sharing and accessibility for insureds and providers. The bill also mandates that health carriers implement these APIs by the earliest dates required by federal regulations, with provisions for the insurance commissioner to grant extensions if a carrier can demonstrate that compliance would be unduly burdensome or cause economic harm. Additionally, the bill includes privacy provisions requiring certain sensitive medical test results (such as those indicating malignancy, genetic markers, HIV, or hepatitis) to be disclosed to patients within 72 hours of finalization, while explicitly protecting patients' rights to amend their medical records. The legislation defines an electronic health record as a comprehensive electronic system that integrates medical information from multiple sources, and it specifically excludes dental and vision-only plans from its requirements. The bill is set to become effective on July 1, 2026, and is intended to be integrated into existing Montana state laws related to insurance and public health.

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https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC2942