MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2005 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Hines
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 43-29-3 AND 43-29-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT PERSONS APPLYING FOR DISABILITY ASSISTANCE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR THE COSTS FOR MEDICAL RECORDS UNTIL AFTER A DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY; TO AMEND SECTION 11-1-52, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 43-29-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-29-3. (1) Assistance shall be given under this chapter to any person who qualifies under Section 43-29-1, and who:
(a) Has resided in this state for one (1) year immediately preceding his application, and such residence shall not have been established solely or in part for the purpose of enabling the applicant to come within the provisions of this chapter;
(b) Resides in the county in which application is made;
(c) Has not sufficient income or other resources to provide a reasonable subsistence compatible with decency and health;
(d) Is not an inmate of or being maintained by any county, municipal, state, or national institution at the time of receiving assistance except as a patient in a public medical institution, or is not a patient in any institution for tuberculosis or mental diseases, or is not a patient in any medical institution as a result of having been diagnosed as having tuberculosis or psychosis; in the event the federal Social Security Act or other appropriate federal statutes are so amended as to permit funds appropriated by congress to be used for assistance to disabled persons who are inmates of public institutions, then being an inmate of any such institution shall not disqualify any such person for assistance. An inmate of such an institution may, however, make application for such assistance but the assistance, if granted, shall not begin until after he ceases to be an inmate;
(e) Has not made an assignment to transfer his property so as to render himself eligible for assistance under this chapter at any time within two (2) years immediately prior to the filing of an application for assistance pursuant to the provisions hereof.
(2) A person who applies for assistance given under this chapter shall not be liable for the costs under this chapter shall not be liable for the costs of copies of medical records until after a determination is made to provide or not provide assistance.
SECTION 2. Section 43-29-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-29-9. (1) Whenever a county welfare agent receives an application for assistance under this chapter, an investigation and record shall promptly be made of the circumstances of the applicant to ascertain the facts supporting the application made under this chapter, and such other information as may be required by the rules of the state board. The county department and the state department shall have the power to conduct examinations, and the county board and such officers and employees as are designated by the state commissioner may also administer oaths and affirmation.
(2) Applicant may provide medical records in accordance with Section 43-29-3(2).
SECTION 3. Section 11-1-52, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
11-1-52. (1) Any medical provider or hospital or nursing home or other medical facility shall charge no more than the following amounts to patients or their representatives for photocopying any patient's records: Twenty Dollars ($20.00) for pages one (1) through twenty (20); One Dollar ($1.00) per page for the next eighty (80) pages; Fifty Cents (50¢) per page for all pages thereafter. Ten percent (10%) of the total charge may be added for postage and handling. Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) may be recovered by the medical provider or hospital or nursing home or other medical facility for retrieving medical records in archives at a location off the premises where the facility/office is located.
(2) A physician shall only charge normal, reasonable and customary charges for a deposition related to a patient that the physician is treating or has treated.
(3) A person applying for disability assistance shall receive records as provided in Section 43-29-3.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.