The Rhode Island Senate unveiled Wednesday a package of nine bills meant to improve healthcare accessibility and affordability in the state.
The effort marks the second consecutive year that the Senate has emphasized the need to address challenges in local healthcare, and lawmakers say it builds on actions including a study examining whether to create a medical school at the University of Rhode Island.
In a statement, Sen. Melissa Murray (D-Woonsocket), chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, said the new package would remove burdensome administrative requirements that pose barriers for patient care, protect patients from medical debt, and lower costs while improving access.
A bill sponsored by Murray as part of the nine pieces of legislation would eliminate the ability of insurance companies to demand prior authorization requirements for primary care providers.
“It is the doctors, not insurers, who know best what care is needed for their patients,” she said. “And we need our primary care doctors focused on providing care, not haggling with insurance companies.”
The Senate last year introduced a 25-bill package related to healthcare. At the time, supporters said the effort was not a cure-all, but a step to move in the right direction.
A Senate effort to require an annual rate review for primary care cleared that chamber, but did not become law last year. Sen. Ryan Pearson (D-Cumberland) has reintroduced the bill and a primary care rate review is also included in Gov. Dan McKee’s latest budget proposal.
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio pointed to the uncertain future of Fatima Hospital in North Providence — whose California-based owner recently filed for bankruptcy — as an illustration of why health care challenges need more attention from senators.
Some of the other bills in the Senate package would:
***Allow Medicaid to be used to pay for graduate medical training and research;
***Permit the state Health Department to review and act upon medical licensing applications that have not been considered by a relevant licensing board within 60 days;
***Prohibit pharmacy benefit managers from using “spread pricing,” which is charging more to healthcare plans and payers for a prescription drug than they reimburse to pharmacies;
***Aim to reduce medical debt by capping the interest rate on new debt, prohibit the attachment of a lien to a person’s home because of medical debt, and ensure the eligibility of certain Medicare patients for supplemental coverage, regardless of pre-existing conditions.
