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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    May 01, 2005

    Legal News and Trends

    Wisconsin LawyerWisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 78, No. 5, May 2005

    Legal News and Trends

    FilesMedical copy fee rule blocked: No relief for high costs of medical record copies

    On March 27, the Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR), without comment or debate, voted along party lines to block a rule setting limits on the fees that may be charged for copies of medical records requested before a lawsuit commences. The rule, advanced by the state Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) in response to a hard-won legislative mandate advocated by the State Bar, would have limited charges to a maximum of 31 cents per page. A $15 retrieval fee would have been added if the requestor is someone other than the subject of the records.

    The State Bar strongly supported the proposed rule. Medical records providers, along with the Wisconsin Hospital Association and the State Medical Society, among others, objected to the rule claiming the rule threatened potentially to drive them out of business and that the DHFS had failed to fulfill its statutory obligation to set fees that approximate the actual cost of reproduction of medical records.

    Opponents tried to broker an alternative compromise, which would have set the fees at $1 per page, which the State Bar opposed and the DHFS rejected. The Republican majority on the committee, without comment, sided with the medical records community.

    The matter now moves to the full legislature, which must debate a bill that will be introduced to support JCRAR's objection to the proposed rule. Until there is a disposition of that legislation, the proposed rule remains blocked, and medical records providers will continue to be able to charge whatever they think the market will bear for records requested before an action commences.

    Wisconsin has a unique process for prepromulgation legislative review and veto of administrative rules. For more information on rulemaking and the legislature's rule review process, visit http://www.legis.state.wi.us/ PDF 196 KB.

    Bankruptcy reform signed into law - "Lawyer-unfriendly" provisions remain to be addressed

    On April 20, President Bush signed into law sweeping bankruptcy legislation, S. 256, containing provisions that will dramatically increase the liability and administrative burdens of debtor bankruptcy attorneys and seriously impinge on the effective legal representation of many Wisconsinites.

    The State Bar vigorously opposed three provisions in the bill that would heighten attorney liability and intrude on the attorney-client relationship. Those provisions will require debtor attorneys to: 1) certify the accuracy of the debtor's schedules of assets, under penalty of harsh court sanctions; 2) certify the ability of the debtor to make future payments under reaffirmation agreements; and 3) identify and advertise themselves as "debt relief agencies" subject to a host of intrusive regulations that would interfere with the confidential attorney-client relationship.

    During the Senate floor and House Judiciary Committee debates on S. 256 last month, several amendments were offered that would have removed the harmful attorney liability provisions from the bill. Despite substantial support for the amendments in the Senate and the committee, the amendments were not adopted. The State Bar will continue to work with House and Senate Judiciary Committee leaders in an effort to address the attorney liability provisions contained in S. 256 before the legislation becomes effective on Oct. 17. A Wisconsin delegation, including State Bar President Michelle Behnke and lobbyists for the Bar, went to Washington D.C. in April to join with the American Bar Association's lobbying efforts to remove these provisions from the law.

    The new Bankruptcy Reform Act, which makes several sweeping changes, culminates an eight-year effort by banks and credit card interests to enact reforms that will, among other things, make it harder for most consumers to discharge debts in Chapter 7 bankruptcies. Proponents argue that the reforms in the Act are needed to prevent abuse of the bankruptcy system by making it more difficult for many individuals to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, which erases most of an individual's debt after assets are liquidated to pay creditors. The Act establishes a means test to force more affluent debtors to file under Chapter 13, which requires individuals to repay some of their debt within three to five years.

    This legislation will affect a large number of clients. To learn more about the Bankruptcy Reform Act and how it may affect your practice and clients, watch closely for other highlights and in-depth seminars on this topic in the coming weeks and months (see inset).

    Learn more about the Bankruptcy Reform Act

    For opportunities to learn more about the Bankruptcy Reform Act and how it may affect your practice and your clients, watch closely for these and other highlights and in-depth seminars on this topic in the coming weeks and months.

    • A critical issues and highlights "dial-up" teleseminar will be presented by State Bar CLE Seminars on June 9.
    • State Bar CLE Seminars also will present live half-day seminars on Aug. 4 and 5 in Milwaukee and Madison, respectively. The Aug. 5 seminar also will be presented as a Webcast.
    • An article will be published in the July Wisconsin Lawyer.
    • The State Bar has updated its consumer pamphlet, "Answering Your Questions About Bankruptcy," for distribution to clients.
    • CLE Books plans to release a new book in the fall of 2005.

    To register for a State Bar seminar:

    For more information:


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