PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Senate President Valarie Lawson and Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman Melissa Murray said the Rhode Island Senate had introduced a 17-bill healthcare legislation package on Thursday.
The bills in the package focus on supporting Rhode Islanders in crisis, protecting both patients and healthcare providers, and strengthening the state’s health sector workforce.
“For the well-being of our communities, and the future of our state, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to ensure the stability and sustainability of our health system, and to make essential care both accessible and affordable for every Rhode Islander,” Lawson said.
Lawson and Murray said that the package takes concrete steps to realize each goal.
In order to support Rhode Islanders in crisis, the package:
Aims to codify the funding of the 988 crisis helpline and its operator BH Link to ensure they remain operational even if federal funding lapses;Would codify Children’s Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) into state law so that behavioral health clinicians could continue to receive training to learn how to de-escalate crises and provide counseling to youths;Would set a commercial insurance reimbursement floor for MRSS and raise reimbursement rates for coverage from insurers;And aims to create “artificial intelligence safety guidelines related to suicidal ideation and mental health treatment,” so that crisis counseling providers could not use AI companions unless there is protocol in pace to address suicidal ideation, self-harm, other physical harm, or financial harm in patients.
For the goal to protect patients and providers, the package:
Would establish oversight of pharmacy benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between insurers and providers, and require certificates in order to operate in the state;Would require insurers cover a minimum of seven days of post-acute care without an authorization requirement;Would direct nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to receive an “enhanced Medicaid per-diem rate” for behavioral health patients; Updates childhood and adult vaccination schedules so they are set by the state Department of Health to “protect public health;”Allows medical professionals to make “[statements] of apology or concern” to patients, their families, or their representatives without said statements being considered an admission of fault, to prevent legal reprisal against providers;And aims to create a 13-member special legislative commission to study medical malpractice claims to healthcare providers.
Lawson and Murray said that in order to strengthen the healthcare workforce, the package:
Would invest in loan repayment and scholarship programs for physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners;Commits “resources needed for the creation of a medical school at the University of Rhode Island;”And establishes a commission to support workforce retention and study the creation of graduate medical education programs, like the one proposed for URI.Comment with Bubbles
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (2)
“I am extremely grateful that our leadership team continues to make this vital policy area a true priority,” Murray said. “While we know that solving the crisis cannot be accomplished through any single piece of legislation, or any one collection of bills, those being highlighted today build on our past progress and help address the most pressing needs of this moment.”