2007 Session

Below please find relevant legislation from the 2007 legislative session.

Section 125 Mandate
H6137 and S0448
Effective July 1, 2009, this bill requires employers with 25 or more employees to establish a Section 125 account to facilitate pre-tax purchase of health insurance by employees. For employees ineligible for employer-based health insurance, the tax benefits would offset between 26-40% of the cost of a Direct Pay premium.

Merger Task Force & Plan/Provider Reports
H6079 and S0647
This bill calls for the study of changes to the small employer market including changing eligibility requirements, rating requirements and merging with the individual market. The report of the task force is due January 1, 2008. The bill also addes to several new plan/provider reports to study negotiations by providers with insurers, conditional credentialling of providers, and silent PPOs.

Copay and Deductible Bad Debt at Hospitals
H5912 and S0595 - VETOED
This bill would have allowed hospitals to bill insurers for a portion of bad debt resulting from patient non-payment of copays or deductibles. The bill also allowed insurers to pass a portion of those cost to employers in the form of rate increases.

Primary Care Resolution
H6502
This joint resolution called for a report from a special legislative commission to study the feasibility of enacting legislation to empower primary care providers to jointly negotiate with health insurers.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island Board Compensation
H5569 and S0872 - VETOED
Bill called for OHIC to promulgate regulations to establish criteria for approving or rejecting board compensation applications from Blue Cross.

Conditional Credentialing
S0254
This bill addresses concerns around conditional credentialling of providers and Pay for Performance standards.

Association Health Insurance Oversight
H5301
This bill clarifies OHIC oversight of association health insurers.

Basic Benefit Health Plan
H6054
This act would authorize small employer health insurers to sell low-cost, basic benefit health plans to small employers on a pilot program basis. The Commissioner would be charged to assess the program and submit a report to the general assembly on or before March 1, 2010 and the program would automatically sunset on December 31, 2010 unless reenacted by the general assembly.

Rate Mandate for Orthotic and Prosthetic Services
H5200 and S0445
This act would require that health maintenance organization policies to provide orthotic and prosthetic devices at a reimbursement rate equal to those provided for under federal laws for aged and disabled persons.

Infertility Benefit Mandate
S0453
This act would increase the age cut-off for coverage for medically necessary expenses of diagnosis and treatment of infertility for women from age forty (40) to age forty two (42). The act would also redefine the term “infertility” to mean a woman who is unable to sustain a pregnancy during a period of one (1) year.

Eletronic Health Record and Health Information Exchange Endorsement
S1085
Joint resolution endorsing the adoption of electronic medical records and health information exchange systems that improve the quality, safety and value of health care.