The bill proposes significant reforms to Rhode Island's healthcare system, aiming to establish the Rhode Island Comprehensive Health Insurance Program (RICHIP), a single-payer health care insurance program. The program is designed to provide universal, comprehensive, and affordable care to Rhode Island residents, replacing the current multi-payer system with a more economical and efficient single-payer model. The bill criticizes the current system for failing to provide universal coverage and highlights the inadequacies of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in achieving this goal. It also addresses systemic racism in health coverage and the economic inefficiencies of the current system. The RICHIP program would be funded by progressive taxes and would only be operational after obtaining the necessary waivers and final financing proposal approval by the general assembly.

The bill includes a series of amendments to existing laws, such as raising the personal needs allowance for nursing facility residents, setting Medicaid rates to equal or exceed Medicare equivalent rates for various services, and expanding Medicaid eligibility. It suggests modernizing payment methodologies, making participation in the RIteShare program voluntary, and streamlining payments by phasing out intermediary payers. The bill also proposes expanding Medicaid office staffing, constructing a new Institution for Mental Disease (IMD), raising the nursing facility assessment rate, and extending provider assessments to cover all eligible providers. Additionally, it outlines a plan to transition to a state-level Medicare for All system, which would consolidate federal health care funding streams, subject to waiver negotiations and general assembly approval. The bill mandates a review of Medicaid requirements under the ACA and other federal laws to pursue service quality, access, and cost-effectiveness.

Statutes affected:
2628: 27-34.3-7, 27-66-24, 28-57-5, 40-8.4-13, 42-12.3-14, 44-17-1, 44-51-3