February 15, 2008
Health Care Legislation Introduced in the RI General Assembly
 
Lt. Governor Roberts’ Healthy Rhode Island Reform Act of 2008

After a series of meetings of Mission: Healthy RI, an advisory work group that was convened by Lt. Governor Roberts to work with her as she sought to develop a comprehensive health care reform plan to ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to the highest quality health care at a cost they can afford, the Healthy Rhode Island Reform Act of 2008, an eight-part package of health care reform bills, was released by the Lt. Governor on February 12.  This legislative package includes:

Part I:  H. 7352 and S. 2484  - The Healthy Rhode Island Reform Act of 2008 – would establish the Healthy Rhode Island Strategic Plan and Chronic Care Management Program.  The Director of Health, in consultation with the health care planning and accountability advisory council, shall be responsible for development of the 5-year plan that charts the course for a healthy Rhode Island.  The House bill has been referred to the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee, and the Senate bill has been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, for hearing/consideration.

Part II:  By January 2009 the designation of a primary care physician will be required, chronic care management plan will be part of coverage, and payment reforms in public insurance plans (i.e. pay-for-performance) will be instituted for Medicaid recipients and all public employees

Part III:  H. 7465 and S. 2481 would create a health care quality and value (“all-payer”) database, expanding the authority of the existing Department of Health quality measurement group to analyze health outcome and cost data from all sources in Rhode Island.  H. 7465 has been referred to the House Health, Education & Welfare Committee and S. 2481 to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee for hearing/consideration.

Part IV:  S. 2472 would create the Rhode Island Health Insurance Access Hub Act of 2008 to facilitate the purchase of affordable health care to eligible persons and groups.  This bill has been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee for hearing/consideration.

Part V:  An individual mandate and employer “pay or play” proposal (for employers with more than 10 employees).  This legislation would institute a requirement for individuals at 400% of the Federal Poverty Level ($40,840 individual/$82,600 family of four) and above to purchase affordable insurance as of July 2009 (coincides with the HealthHub product availability).  It would also introduce an employer universal “health security assessment” with full offset for employers who provide health insurance to their employees.  The assessment would be approximately $1,000 per full-time employee per year, with proceeds going to support coverage for the uninsured.

Part VI:   H. 7399 would amend the definition of dependent on health insurance policies and would not require that a child between 19 and 25 be a student to be considered a dependent.
This bill has been referred to the House Corporations Committee for hearing/consideration.

Part VII:  H. 7493 and S. 2286 would establish a regional health insurance market between Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut to expand opportunities for regional insurers to offer insurance in Rhode Island.  H. 7493 has been referred to House Corporations and S. 2286 to Senate Health & Human Services for hearing/consideration.

Part VIII:  H. 7466 and S. 2222 – Joint Resolution Creating a Joint Task Force to Study All Aspects of Health Care Reform Relating to the Healthy Rhode Island Reform Act of 2008 - would create a nine-member special task force whose purpose would be to make a comprehensive study of all aspects of health care reform and who would report back to the General Assembly no later than 6/4/09 and whose life would expire on 8/4/09.  H. 7466 has been referred to the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee, and S. 2222 to the Senate Health & Human Services for hearing/consideration.

Several members of the RIBGH Board and the Legislative Affairs and Public Policy Committee have been working with the Lt. Governor in the shaping of her health care reform package.  RIBGH will be monitoring the Lt. Governor’s legislative package and will keep you informed of any scheduled hearing dates.

Other legislative bills you should be aware of include:

Fair Share Health Care Fund (H. 7181) – This act, which would take effect upon passage,  would establish the Fair Share Health Care Report and would require employers of 1,000 employees or more to file annual reports relating to the portion of total employees’ health care costs paid by the employer.  This bill was scheduled for hearing by the House Labor Committee and continued on 2/12/08.

Mandated Health Benefits Proposals Include:

Infertility Coverage - H. 7239 and S. 2285 would provide insurance coverage for treatment of infertility for unmarried, as well as married, persons.  Both bills were scheduled for hearing; the House Corporations and the Senate Health & Human Services Committees recommended these measures be held for further study.

Acupuncture Coverage – S. 2161 would mandate acupuncture coverage in health insurance policies and has been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee for review.

Cochlear Implant Coverage – H. 7436 would require insurance coverage for the cochlear implant surgery.  This bill was introduced on 2/13 and has been referred to the House Corporations Committee for review.

Mandated Health Benefits Review – S. 2279 would create an independent committee to review the cost-effectiveness, medical efficacy and social need for mandated health insurance benefits and would take effect 1/1/09.  S. 2191 would require a mandated benefit review by the RI Health Insurance Commissioner on any mandated benefit introduced after 1/1/08 contingent on the review being paid for by the state health care providers.  A hearing on both of these bills was held on 2/13/08 by the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, who recommended the measures be held for further study

Funding for Coordinated Health Planning – S. 2466, introduced on 2/13/08 and referred to the Senate Finance Committee, would allocate matching funds of $250,000 for the continuation of the Coordinated Health Planning and Accountability Advisory Council from funds attached to the 2% annual tax on gross premiums on insurance contracts.  This bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee for hearing/consideration.

Rhode Island Health Information Exchange Act of 2008 -  H. 7409, which would establish safeguards and confidentiality protection for health information exchange, was introduced on 2/12/08 and has been referred to the House Health, Education & Welfare Committee.

Confidentiality of Health Care Communications and Information Act – S. 2577 would prevent disclosure of a patient’s health care information through ex parte contacts with a health care provider by persons other than the patient or his/her legal representative.  Introduced on 2/13, this bill has been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.

Patient Safety -  S. 2280 – the Patient Safety and Medical Error Reduction Act would require each hospital in the state to participate in a comprehensive program to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors in the respective hospitals.  S. 2474 – The Rhode Island Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2008 – would be established to promote patient safety, reduce medical errors, and encourage better reporting of medical errors and related incidents. Both of these bills have been referred to the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.

Health Insurance Co-payments –  Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate seeking to require health insurance carriers to reimburse hospitals for certain uncollected member co-payments and deductibles and would also place conditions upon the variation of adjusted community rates applied to small employer carriers.  H. 7057 -  introduced on 1/8 was heard by the House Corporations Committee on 1/15, who recommended it be held for further study.  S. 2414, was introduced on 2/12 and referred to Senate Finance.

Health Insurance Premium Increase Cap– H. 7491 would limit the percentage increase amount that certain contracts for health insurance would be allowed to increase annually and would take effect on 1/1/09.  This bill has been referred to House Corporations.