Creates the home-fit dwelling units act to apply to all new construction of covered dwelling units to incorporate design features that provide safe and convenient use of to the greatest extent feasible, regardless of age or physical ability.
Permits students diagnosed with asthma, a condition that may lead to bronchospasm or anaphylaxis, or both, to carry and self-administer asthma medication or auto-injectable or intranasal epinephrine, or both.
Addresses any single-family construction, townhouse construction, and multi-family construction complying with the Standards for Visitable Units of the ANSI' Standards for Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities.
Requires a municipality to disclose on their official website the specific issues, details and costs of any legal action of which the town or city is a named defendant within 60 days after the close of the fiscal year.
Designates the month of May, annually, as "Rhode Island Native Plant Month," with appropriate ceremonies and activities to recognize and educate people about Rhode Island's native plants.
Amends the residential landlord and tenant act to prohibit the use of algorithmic renting-setting software that relies on nonpublic competitor data to determine rental prices or occupancy levels for residential dwelling units in Rhode Island.
Amends the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act to clarify housing-status enforcement, ban discriminatory housing notices, align state law with federal standards and remove a ban on public discussion of fair housing cases.
Provides that for treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, payors would rely upon criteria which reflect generally accepted standards of care when developing coverage.
Maddy summaryHB 7943 prohibits health insurers from requiring preauthorization for in-network mental health or substance use disorder services, directly affecting insured patients seeking these treatments within their plan's network. The bill mandates that coverage for mental health and substance use disorders must meet the same terms as medical care, eliminating annual/lifetime dollar limits and ensuring cost-sharing parity with primary care visits. Key provisions include banning non-quantitative treatment restrictions that are stricter than those for medical conditions and requiring insurers to use American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria for substance use disorder coverage. The law takes effect January 1, 2027, and applies specifically to in-network services as defined in the bill.
Maddy summaryHB 7944 requires health insurance plans to cover mental health and substance use disorder treatment under the same terms as medical care. It prohibits annual or lifetime dollar limits on such coverage and mandates that financial requirements (like copays) and treatment restrictions must not be more stringent than those for physical health conditions. The bill specifies coverage categories (e.g., inpatient, outpatient), mandates medication-assisted treatments for substance use disorders (like methadone), and ensures cost-sharing for behavioral health visits matches primary care standards, directly affecting all health insurance plans and their policyholders.
