Provides for the exemption of fees for health records when requested for the federal and state veterans affairs departments

House Bill 609 enacts a new subsection to Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1165.1 that prohibits healthcare providers, healthcare facilities, and custodians of healthcare information from charging fees for preparing, reproducing, handling, or transmitting medical records when those records are requested by or on behalf of a veteran for the exclusive purpose of submitting a disability benefits claim to either the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs. The exemption applies to all charges associated with record fulfillment, including preparation, reproduction, handling, and transmission costs. The bill defines "veteran" by reference to the existing definition in R.S. 13:5364 and limits the exemption to one free request per veteran, after which any subsequent medical records requests are subject to standard fees regardless of their purpose.

Veterans seeking disability benefits from federal or state veterans affairs programs will no longer face financial barriers to obtaining their medical records for those claims, which removes a potential obstacle in the disability determination process. Healthcare providers and facilities that maintain medical records will be required to absorb the costs of preparing and transmitting medical records for veterans making their first request in connection with a disability benefits claim, though they may require reasonable documentation to confirm veteran status and verify that the request relates to a disability claim. Subsequent requests for medical records by the same veteran, whether for veterans affairs purposes or any other reason, will be subject to standard copying and transmission fees under existing law.

This legislation operates within the framework of R.S. 40:1165.1, which governs healthcare information records generally and establishes the authority of healthcare providers to charge fees for records disclosure. The bill creates an exception to those fee-charging provisions specifically for veterans pursuing disability benefits. The definition of veteran is tied to R.S. 13:5364, which is part of Louisiana's statutory provisions regarding veterans and veteran benefits, ensuring consistency across state law regarding who qualifies as a veteran for statutory purposes. The one-time exemption structure balances the policy objective of facilitating veteran access to records for disability claims with the recognition that repeated free requests could impose excessive costs on healthcare providers.