Assembly Bill 937
Access to and release of patient health care records
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Feb 9, 2018
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Senate vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 28, 2018: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Health. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill makes various changes to statutes regarding access to and release of patient health care records.
The bill substitutes the term “representative of the patient" for the term “person authorized by the patient" throughout the statutes related to confidentiality of and access to health care records. The bill also changes the definition such that a “representative of the patient" is any of the following: the parent or guardian or legal custodian of a patient who is a minor; the person vested with supervision of a patient who is a child under certain state laws; a person who has legal authority to act on behalf of an adult patient in making decisions related to health care; the personal representative, or special administrator, who has the authority to act on behalf of a deceased patient or a deceased patient's estate; a health care agent designated by an adult patient as a principal under a power of attorney for health care instrument if the patient has been found to be incapacitated except as limited in that instrument; a temporary guardian appointed for a patient; or an individual who is treated as a personal representative under the federal privacy rule associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The federal privacy rule associated with HIPAA specifies that a personal representative is a person who has authority to act on behalf of an adult or an emancipated minor in making health care decisions; a parent, guardian, or other person acting in loco parentis who has authority to act on behalf of an unemancipated minor in making health care decisions under certain circumstances specified in the rule; or an executor, administrator, or other person who has authority to act on behalf of a deceased individual or the deceased individual's estate.
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Current state law allows that a patient or person authorized by the patient may, among other things, authorize release of the patient's health care records to others, inspect the patient's health care records, obtain copies of the patient's health care records for a reduced fee if the patient is eligible for Medical Assistance, and obtain copies of the patient's health care records without paying a certification fee or a retrieval fee. A representative of the patient retains that authority under this bill.
Under the bill, a health care provider is allowed to elect not to consider a person as a representative of the patient under circumstances similar to the federal privacy rule associated with HIPAA. A health care provider, in its discretion, may elect not to consider a person a representative of the patient if 1) the patient has been or may be subjected to domestic violence, abuse, or neglect by the person or 2) considering the person as a representative of the patient could endanger the patient and, in the exercise of the health care provider's professional judgment, it is not in the best interest of the patient to consider that person a representative of the patient.
This bill also changes the fees allowed for obtaining copies of health records to include fees relating to electronic records and electronic delivery of health records.
Among other things, the bill establishes a maximum per page charge of $300 per record, plus applicable taxes, for electronic copies secured from a medical provider's electronic health record and delivered via electronic mail or secure Internet portal.
Finally, the bill changes the fee structure for reproduction fees for medical records requested in worker's compensation matters, applying the same fee structure used for reproduction of medical records in other contexts in place of the special fee structure for worker's compensation matters that exists under current law.
Who's behind it
Dave Murphy, a Republican, is its .
See all the details Hide the names
Author (1)
- Dave Murphy · Republican, Assembly
What happened
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Mar 28, 2018
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Feb 9, 2018
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Health.
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Feb 9, 2018
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Feb 9, 2018 · Assembly
Introduced by Representative Murphy
- Feb 9, 2018 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Health
- Mar 28, 2018 · Assembly
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis