2025 · Regular session · House bill
HB4224
HB4224 requires covered entities subject to the new provision to prominently post detailed consumer instructions both on their websites and at their facilities.
Official caption: Relating to information regarding consumer access to health care records.
Official report lists House author(s): Hull, Howard. This does not identify sponsors or amendment drafters.
Bill explanation published · Version and amendment review scope is stated below · Individual amendment records may not be separately annotated.
Bill highlights
Selected points from the published explanation. Follow each point to its source-linked context; conditions and limits may matter.
- HB4224 requires covered entities subject to the new provision to prominently post detailed consumer instructions both on their websites and at their facilities.
- The posting rule does not apply to an entity that performs claims processing, data processing, data analysis, utilization review or billing on behalf of another covered entity that provides health care directly to consumers.
- The law took effect September 1, 2025.
What does it do?
HB4224 requires covered entities subject to the new provision to prominently post detailed consumer instructions both on their websites and at their facilities. The instructions must explain how to request the consumer’s health care records, contact the entity’s disciplinary or licensing authority, and file the consumer complaints described in Health and Safety Code Section 181.103.
The posting rule does not apply to an entity that performs claims processing, data processing, data analysis, utilization review or billing on behalf of another covered entity that provides health care directly to consumers. Existing Chapter 181 exemptions also remain. The underlying definition of a covered entity is broader than just physicians or hospitals; it reaches specified people and organizations handling protected health information.
The law took effect September 1, 2025. It requires accessible instructions, not public posting of patients’ medical records.
What changed along the way?
The introduced bill and House committee text had the posting requirement without the new service-provider exemption. House amendment 1, adopted May 5, added that exemption. The engrossed, Senate committee and final texts retained it. The amendment index lists no other floor amendments.
The bill adds Section 181.105 to the existing health-records privacy framework. It does not replace existing access rights, access exceptions or the attorney general’s consumer-information website requirements. The official history records the governor’s June 20 signature.
For the full amendment record, open the official amendment index.
Official bill versions
Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.
Who could benefit—and who could bear the costs?
Consumers gain clearer directions for getting their records and identifying the correct regulator or complaint process. Entities covered by the posting rule must prepare, display and keep usable instructions, while the specified back-office service providers avoid this additional posting duty.
The latest fiscal note anticipated no significant state or local-government fiscal impact, with state costs absorbed using existing resources. It did not quantify private website or signage costs.
Review boundary: This explains the notice requirement, not a promise that every record is immediately releasable, free of charge or available to any person who asks.
Official sources
- Bill history and latest recorded action
- Bill versions, analyses and fiscal notes
- Action history and votes
- Amendment index
Catalog report retrieved 2026-10-25. Check the official record for corrections or later changes.
