Rep. Susan Donovan

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.

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.

Maddy summaryHB 7485 increases reimbursement rates for ambulance services under both individual and group health insurance plans. It creates a Mobile Integrated Healthcare Community Paramedicine Program administered by the Department of Health, allowing approved ambulance services to provide community-based healthcare. The bill requires all out-of-network ambulance services participating in the program to follow state and federal rules prohibiting surprise medical billing. This directly affects ambulance service agencies, health insurers, and patients receiving emergency transportation services in Rhode Island.

Requires certain health care facilities to allow a terminally ill patient’s use of medicinal cannabis within the health care facility, subject to certain restrictions.

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.

Raises the age of eligibility for mobile response and stabilization services from eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21) and establishes a minimum rate for commercial health insurance reimbursement for such services.

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.

Permits licensed providers to accompany emergency medical services and treat patients within the community for mental health disorders, including substance use disorders.

Grants an affirmative defense for certain privileged communications, including communications made by an individual, without malice, regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination.