Allows private employees at nursing homes, developmental disability and home care providers whose salaries are 90% funded with federal or state monies to be eligible to opt into the state healthcare plan.
Requires the department of elementary and secondary education and DOH to adopt policies, rules and regulations for the administration of seizure rescue medications for children who have been medically identified as having epilepsy/seizure disorder.
SB 2109 prohibits health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers from requiring or conducting insurance reviews for prescriptions used to treat opioid or alcohol use disorder. Specifically, it blocks reviews for medications containing methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone, or for any FDA-approved medication managing opioid withdrawal. The bill directly affects patients seeking addiction treatment and insurers/pharmacy managers handling these prescriptions. It also requires Medicaid managed care organizations to use state-set medical necessity criteria for reviews. The law takes effect upon passage.
Permits healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat patients remotely with store-and-forward technology when provision of services in such manner is consistent with the standard of care.
Establishes Children's Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund to provide finance assistance to families for medical expenses not covered by state or federal programs or insurance contract.
This resolution appropriates $100,000 from state funds to the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, operated by the Alliance for Better Long-Term Care. It directly supports vulnerable residents in 76 nursing facilities (8,405 beds), 65 assisted living residences (5,209 units), and two specialized facilities, who file complaints about care issues, abuse, or rights violations. The funding addresses underfunding that has not kept pace with a tripling of complaints since 2023 (1,787 in 2025), ensuring the ombudsman program can continue investigating and resolving resident concerns. This is a procedural budget allocation, not a policy change, aimed at maintaining existing oversight services.
Provides that licensed independent clinical social workers be able to enroll and bill Medicaid directly for covered services provided to adults with Medicaid fee-for-service coverage.
Enacts the RI individual market affordability act of 2026 to establish a program to help reduce out-of-pocket costs for low- and moderate-income consumers enrolled in individual health insurance coverage through the RI health benefits exchange.
Prohibits a healthcare provider from requiring patients to provide electronic payment information to be kept on file as a condition to receiving treatment and makes it a violation a deceptive trade practice.
Prohibits insurance companies from paying a rate that is less than the approved Medicaid rate set by the executive office of health and human services.
