The Senate Civil Law Committee heard, for amend and vote only, Sen. Breaux’s and Sen. Bray’s SB 516 authorizing guardian power to request health records after the patient’s death. However, if a personal representative of the estate of the deceased patient is appointed, the guardian of the deceased patient may not request the health records of the deceased patient. This bill also amends the guardianship law to provide that:
- the guardianship of an incapacitated person is not terminated upon the incapacitated person’s death, and;
- the court may not terminate the guardianship of an incapacitated person:
- until at least 60 days after the incapacitated person’s death; or
- if the guardian, less than 60 days after the incapacitated person’s death, requests access to records relating to the incapacitated person’s death, until the guardian is granted access to the records or until the guardian’s request for access to the records is denied and the guardian:
- states that the guardian will not appeal the denial of access;
- exhausts all administrative and judicial appeals of the denial of access; or
- is barred due to the passage of time from appealing the denial of access.
It also provides that when a guardianship continues after the death of the protected person because the protected person was an incapacitated person, the 30-day period within which the guardian is required to file a written verified account with the court begins when the guardianship is terminated, not when the protected person dies.
The bill passed 8-0.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/516