Texas Comptroller Don Huffines signed an executive order this week aimed at ending taxes on the charges patients and doctors pay just to access electronic health records, patient portals and other healthcare technology systems. The move targets fees that officials say have been quietly padding medical bills across the state for decades under a rule most Texans have never heard of.
The order directs a proposed rule change that, according to the comptroller's office, could mean Texans no longer have to pay a tax to view their own medical records, as reported by FOX 7 Austin. The comptroller's office said those extra fees have been driving up the general cost of healthcare for Texans, framing the change as a direct cost-saving measure for patients navigating an already expensive system.
Why a 1987 Law Is Suddenly in the Spotlight
At the heart of the issue is decades-old legislation. The services for accessing electronic health records, patient portals and healthcare technology systems were treated as taxable under 1987 legislation on information services, according to the order. Huffines said the rules were written before doctors' offices were running cloud-based record systems and before patients were logging into portals to check their own test results or message a provider.
The comptroller's office said the order would modify previous legislation it considered outdated, arguing that a law written for a pre-internet healthcare system has no business being applied to modern digital record-keeping. Huffines framed the issue in blunt, personal terms, saying Texans should not have to pay a tax to see their own medical records and that doctors should not be taxed for retrieving the chart of a patient sitting right in front of them.
What Happens Next in the Rulemaking Process
The proposed amendment will be filed with the Texas Secretary of State and will be followed by a 30-day public comment period. During that window, Texans and healthcare providers can submit feedback to the comptroller's office before any rule change is finalized. The comptroller's office said the tax elimination could save Texans money on healthcare, though the process still has procedural steps to clear before it takes effect.
Existing fee limits for medical records already exist elsewhere in state guidance. The Texas Medical Board advises that a reasonable fee for providing copies of medical records in electronic format should run no more than $25 for 500 pages or less and $50 for more than 500 pages, according to the Texas Medical Board, with an additional fee of up to $15 allowed for executing an affidavit if one is requested. Those figures govern copying costs rather than the information-services tax targeted by Huffines' order, but they illustrate the patchwork of charges patients already navigate when requesting their own records.
How Other States and Federal Rules Handle Records Access
Record-access costs vary widely outside Texas as well. A U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that in at least one state, individuals were entitled to one free copy of their medical record but could be charged up to $1 per page for additional copies, according to the Government Accountability Office. Federal privacy guidance, meanwhile, outlines patients' rights to have electronic health information sent to another provider or into their own personal health record, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
For now, the Texas change remains a proposal moving through the rulemaking pipeline rather than a tax already eliminated. The comptroller's office has not detailed the exact savings any individual patient might see, and the coming public comment period will determine whether the rule advances as drafted or gets revised based on feedback from Texans and healthcare providers across the state.
