SUBSTITUTE                                                                       ADOPTED - JANUARY 27, 2009

                                                                                                            Agenda Item No. 28

Introduced by the Human Services and Finance Committees of the:

INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

 RESOLUTION TO ESTABLISH MEDICAL RECORDS

COPYING FEES FOR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT

RESOLUTION #09-016

WHEREAS, Ingham County operates a Community Health Center Network that provides outpatient ambulatory primary health care services to approximately 25,000 low-income and at-risk persons, with over 72,000 medical and dental encounters provided annually; and

WHEREAS, the Ingham County Health Department maintains medical records for each patient it serves within its Community Health Center Network; and          

WHEREAS, there is a regular need to disclose medical records or summaries of these records to other health care providers, government offices, legal firms, and to individual patients; and

WHEREAS, the Health Department must comply with the Michigan Medical Records Access Act; and

WHEREAS, the Health Officer has recommended that the Board of Commissioners establish the following medical records copying fees:

1) An initial fee of $21.58 per request for a copy of the record;

2) $1.08 per page for the first 20 pages;

3) $0.53 per page for pages 21 through 50;

4) $0.22 cents for pages 51 and over;

5) Fee for actual postage or shipping costs as incurred;

6) Annual percentage increases based on the Consumer Price Index as permitted by the MRAA;

7) Waiver of all  fees when medical records are disclosed directly to a patient;

8) Waiver of all fees for disclosure of records to another provider for continuity of care purposes.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners authorizes the following medical records  fees:

1) An initial fee of $21.58 per request for a copy of the record;

2) $1.08 per page for the first 20 pages;

3) $0.53 per page for pages 21 through 50;

4) $0.22 cents for pages 51 and over;

5) Fee for actual postage or shipping costs as incurred;

6) Annual percentage increases based on the Consumer Price Index as permitted by the MRAA; 

7) Waiver of all copying fees when medical records are disclosed directly to a patient;

8) Waiver of all fees for disclosure of records to another provider for continuity of care purposes.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Controller/Administrator is authorized to make any necessary budget adjustments to the Health Department’s budget.

HUMAN SERVICES:    Human Services will meet on 1/26/09.

FINANCE:  Yeas:  Grebner, Bahar-Cook, Tennis, Davis, Dougan

    Nays:  None                 Absent:  Nolan       Approved 1/21/09