Sen. Murray, Senate Leadership announce package of bills to address health care accessibility, affordability
STATE HOUSE, Providence – Senator Melissa A. Murray, Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, and the Senate Leadership today announced the introduction of a 9-bill package of legislation focused on addressing health care accessibility and affordability.
The package builds upon other actions for which the leaders also have advocated strongly, including a rate review for primary care providers and consideration of creating a medical school at the University of Rhode Island. The rate review proposal, which the Senate passed last year, has been incorporated into the Governor’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which is currently under review. And a Senate commission created last year is in the process of examining the education and retention of the primary care workforce, including the feasibility of establishing a state medical school at URI.
The bills in the package announced today build upon this work, removing burdensome administrative requirements that present barriers to patient care, protecting patients from crushing medical debt, and otherwise improving access and lowering costs.
Chairwoman Murray (D – Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield) is sponsoring legislation to end prior authorization requirements imposed by insurance companies on primary care providers.
“It is the doctors, not insurers, who know best what care is needed for their patients. And we need our primary care doctors focused on providing care, not haggling with insurance companies,” she stated.
Said President of the Senate Dominick J. Ruggerio (D-Dist. 4, North Providence, Providence), “Together, we have taken some important steps to address Rhode Island’s health care challenges. But our system of care remains in critical condition, and urgent action is absolutely necessary. In my own community of North Providence, the situation surrounding Fatima Hospital’s future has exemplified many of the challenges we are working to address, and driven home the very real, very serious consequences for Rhode Island families. With the bills in this package, and many other pieces of legislation introduced by my colleagues, the Senate remains focused on making health care less costly, and easier to get, for every resident of our state.”
“Health care needs to be available and affordable for every Rhode Islander, always,” said Senate Majority Leader Valarie J. Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence). “But right now, for too many individuals and families, that’s simply not the reality. Primary care providers are strained beyond their limits, and many patients in need of a doctor can’t find one. Navigating our prescription drug system, or getting insurance approval for a needed procedure or medication, can be a time-consuming headache, for both providers and patients. These are just some of the serious problems we face. Our constituents need us to act, and I know my Senate colleagues are fully committed to finding solutions that make a real difference. We will continue to explore every avenue, and all available tools, to ease this health care crisis.”
“We must make Rhode Island a more attractive place for health care providers to practice. That starts with primary care providers, but it extends across the entire continuum of care,” said Majority Whip David P. Tikoian (D-Dist. 22, Smithfield, Lincoln, North Providence). “I look forward to working with my colleagues to make health care more accessible and affordable for all Rhode Islanders.”
The package of legislation includes:
PRIMARY CARE & PROVIDERS
Eliminating prior authorization (Sponsored by Sen. Melissa A. Murray, 2025-S 168 ): This legislation would prohibit insurers from requiring prior authorization for medically necessary health care services and prescriptions as determined by a primary care provider, with the exception of some brand name medications and controlled substances.
Graduate medical education (Sponsored by Sen. Brian J. Thompson, 2025-S 171): To increase availability of training programs, this legislation would allow for the use of Medicaid funding to support graduate medical education programs and research in areas including, but not limited to, trauma care, primary care, maternal health, mental health, and substance abuse treatment.
Issuance of medical licenses (Sponsored by Sen. Peter A. Appollonio Jr., 2025-S 170): To address licensing backlogs, this bill would allow the Rhode Island Department of Health to review and act upon any medical licensing applications that have not been considered by the relevant licensing board within 60 days of submission.
PHARMACIES & PRESCRIPTIONS
Spread pricing limits (Sponsored by Sen. Lori Urso, 2025-S 165): This bill would prohibit pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, from utilizing “spread pricing” in their cost structures related to health care plans. Spread pricing is a practice wherein PBMs charge health plans and payers more for a prescription drug than what they reimburse to the pharmacy, and then keep the difference or “spread.”
Medicaid spread pricing prohibition (Sponsored by Sen. Linda L. Ujifusa, 2025-S 173): This bill would prohibit spread pricing by health insurance corporations that manage Medicaid plans for approximately 90 percent of Medicaid enrollees.
Administration of vaccines (Sponsored by Sen. Robert Britto, 2025-S 166): This bill would clarify state law to enable pharmacists to administer vaccines to all eligible patients, regardless of age. Pharmacists already administer these vaccines to adults, and were temporarily permitted to administer vaccines to all age groups during the COVID pandemic.
PATIENTS & FAMILIES
Medical debt interest rate cap (Sponsored by Sen. John P. Burke, 2025-S 172): This bill would cap the interest rate on new medical debt at the interest rate equal to the weekly average 1-week constant maturity Treasury yield, but not less than 1.5 percent annum nor more than 4 percent annum, as published by the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve System. The interest rate would also be extended to judgments on medical debt.
Prohibition on medical debt attachments (Sponsored by Sen. Jacob E. Bissaillon, 2025-S 169): This bill would prohibit the attachment of a lien to an individual’s home because of medical debt.
Medigap (Sponsored by Majority Leader Valarie J. Lawson, 2025-S 167): This legislation would clarify existing law to ensure the eligibility of certain Medicare patients for supplemental coverage programs, regardless of age or pre-existing conditions.
Chairwoman Murray concluded: “The bills we are highlighting with this announcement are key parts of the Senate’s action on health care, but there is a great deal of other extremely important work being done by many of our colleagues. Solving this crisis cannot be done through a single piece of legislation, or by one collection of bills. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will be focused on these bills and many others, and we will rely on the energy, expertise, and leadership of every member of our chamber as we work collaboratively to take on our health care challenges.”
Attached is a fact sheet on the package of legislation.
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