Original Notice.

     Exempt from preproposal statement of inquiry under RCW 34.05.310(4).

     Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 246-08-400 How much can a health care provider charge for searching and duplicating health care records, pursuant to RCW 70.02.010(15), and making technical corrections.

     Hearing Location(s): Department of Health, 111 Israel Road S.E., Room 158, Tumwater, WA 98501, on June 5, 2013, at 9:00 a.m.

     Date of Intended Adoption: June 6, 2013.

     Submit Written Comments to: Sherry Thomas, Department of Health, P.O. Box 47850, Olympia, WA 98504-7850, e-mail [web site] http://www3.doh.wa.gov/policyreview/, fax (360) 236-4626, by June 5, 2013.

     Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Sherry Thomas by May 29, 2013, TTY (800) 833-6388 or 711.

     Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The purpose is to adjust the maximum fees health care providers are allowed to charge for searching and duplicating health care records. The adjustment is legislatively required to occur every two years, and must be based on the change in the consumer price index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma area (see below). In addition, we are making technical corrections to subsection (4) to refer to the full HIPAA regulation citation, and to refer to "health care" provider and "health care" records, rather than "medical" provider and records to make the references consistent with the authorizing statute.

     Not Seasonally Adjusted

     Area: Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Washington

     Item: All items

     Base Period: 1982-84=100

     Years: 2010 to 2012

Year	Jan Feb	Mar Apr	May Jun	Jul Aug	Sep Oct	Nov Dec	Annual
2010	226.085	226.513	226.118	227.645	227.251	226.862	226.693
2011	229.482	231.314	233.250	233.810	235.916	234.812	232.765
2012	235.744	237.931	239.540	240.213	241.355	237.993	238.663

     Not Seasonally Adjusted

     Area: Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Washington

     Item: All items

     Base Period: 1982-84=100

     Years: 2010 to 2012

Year	Jan Feb	Mar Apr	May Jun	Jul Aug	Sep Oct	Nov Dec	Annual
2010	0.6	0.3	-0.5	0.2	0.4	0.6	0.3
2011	1.5	2.1	3.2	2.7	3.8	3.5	2.7
2012	2.7	2.9	2.7	2.7	2.3	1.4	2.5

     Reasons Supporting Proposal: The proposed rule sets reasonable fees providers are allowed to charge for cost recovery. The adjustment is required by law to occur every two years. The CPI for the Seattle-Tacoma area changed from 226.862 in December 2010 to 237.993 in December 2012, which is a 4.9 percent increase.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 70.02.010(15) and 43.70.040.

     Statute Being Implemented: RCW 70.02.010(15).

     Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

     Name of Proponent: Department of health, governmental.

     Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Sherry Thomas, 111 Israel Road, Tumwater, WA 98501, (360) 236-4612.

     No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. Under RCW 34.05.310 (4)(e), a small business economic impact statement is not required for a proposed rule that sets or adjusts fees or rates pursuant to legislative standards. In addition, the technical changes to correct the HIPAA citation and clarify wording are exempt under RCW 34.05.310 (4)(d) because they clarify language without changing its effect.

     A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. The agency did not complete a cost-benefit analysis under RCW 34.05.328. RCW 34.05.328 (5)(b)(vi) exempts rules that set or adjust fees or rates pursuant to legislative standards, and subsection (5)(b)(iv) exempts changes to clarify language of a rule without changing its effect.

April 11, 2013

Mary C. Selecky

Secretary

OTS-5332.3

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 11-12-027, filed 5/24/11, effective 7/1/11)

WAC 246-08-400   How much can a ((medical)) health care provider charge for searching and duplicating ((medical)) health care records?   RCW 70.02.010(15) allows ((medical)) health care providers to charge fees for searching and duplicating ((medical)) health care records. The fees a provider may charge cannot exceed the fees listed below:

     (1) Copying charge per page:

     (a) No more than one dollar and ((four)) nine cents per page for the first thirty pages;

     (b) No more than ((seventy-nine)) eighty-two cents per page for all other pages.

     (2) Additional charges:

     (a) The provider can charge a ((twenty-three)) twenty-four dollar clerical fee for searching and handling records;

     (b) If the provider personally edits confidential information from the record, as required by statute, the provider can charge the usual fee for a basic office visit.

     (3) This section is effective July 1, ((2011)) 2013, through June 30, ((2013)) 2015.

     (4) HIPAA covered entities((: See)) shall refer to HIPAA regulation ((Section)) 45 C.F.R. 164.524 (c)(4) ((to determine applicability of this rule)).

[Statutory Authority: RCW 70.02.010(15) and 43.70.040. 11-12-027, § 246-08-400, filed 5/24/11, effective 7/1/11; 09-13-102, § 246-08-400, filed 6/17/09, effective 7/1/09; 07-12-029, § 246-08-400, filed 5/30/07, effective 7/1/07. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.02.010(14) and 43.70.040. 06-11-166, § 246-08-400, filed 5/24/06, effective 6/24/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.02.010(12) and 43.70.040. 05-12-013, § 246-08-400, filed 5/20/05, effective 7/1/05. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.02.010(12), 43-70-040 [43.70.040] and 70.02.900. 03-14-036, § 246-08-400, filed 6/23/03, effective 7/24/03. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.02.010 and 43.70.040. 01-16-009, § 246-08-400, filed 7/19/01, effective 8/19/01; 99-13-083, § 246-08-400, filed 6/14/99, effective 7/15/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 70.02.010(12) and 43.70.040. 97-12-087, § 246-08-400, filed 6/4/97, effective 7/5/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.70.040 and 70.02.101(12). 95-20-080, § 246-08-400, filed 10/4/95, effective 11/4/95.]