Rhode Island Statutes

Requires the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner to:
– Conduct analysis of provisions of above’s impact on health insurance premiums and access to care and report findings to general assembly
– Ensure parity and integrate requirements into OHIC insurance oversight and health care transformation efforts
– Direct insurers toward policies and practices that address the behavioral health needs of the public and greater integration of physical and behavioral health care delivery
– Work with other agencies to make delivery system improvements that enhance access to a continuum of MH/SUD treatment;

Amended by R.I. HB 2540.

The statute requires counseling and MAT maintenance visits to be considered primary care visits for purposes of cost sharing requirements, regardless of professional license, if such care is consistent with the provider’s scope of practice and plan credentialing and contracting provisions.

Amended by R.I. SB 2540.

Section (h) of Section 27-38.2-1 added the provision that patients with substance use disorders shall have access to evidence-based non-opioid treatment for pain, therefore coverage shall apply to medically necessary chiropractic care, and osteopathic manipulative treatment performed by a licensed individual.

Amended by R.I. HB 6124.

This is a comprehensive bill that aims to address the opioid crisis. Among other things, it amends a section of state insurance law about parity by extending the definition of medication assisted maintenance services to include buprenorphine, naltrexone, or other clinically appropriate medications, in addition to methadone.

This is a comprehensive bill that aims to address the opioid crisis. Among other things, it amends a section of state insurance law about parity by extending the definition of medication assisted maintenance services to include buprenorphine, naltrexone, or other clinically appropriate medications, in addition to methadone.

This bill changed the section of the state insurance law about parity by adding many subsections and changing some language. The specific, substantive changes as a result of this bill were:

• Forbids plans from using annual maximums and lifetime maximums
• Financial requirements and quantitative treatment limitations for behavioral health services can be “no more restrictive” than those used for other medical services
• Non-quantitative treatment limitations for behavioral health services and other medical services must be similar in how they are written and applied
• Prescription medications for substance use disorders must be covered, specifically mentioned are those used for opioid overdoses (like naloxone) and those used for chronic addiction (like methadone)
• Removes language that exempted plans from covering methadone maintenance treatment for substance use disorders
• Removes 30 day outpatient visit annual limit for behavioral health services
• Removes 30 hour outpatient visit annual limit for substance use disorders along with 30 day annual limit for residential treatment and 30 day detoxification annual limit

The bill also added several other sections to the state insurance law that define certain types of care and treatment while also establishing standards for hospitals to follow when they discharge patients with substance use disorders.

This bill added the section to the state health and safety law about utilization review that is relevant to parity. This section is summarized at the bottom of the page under “Rhode Island Parity Law.”

Among many other things, this bill changed state law so that the Commissioner of Health Insurance is now required to monitor plans for compliance with the Federal Parity Law.

This bill changed the section of the state insurance law about autism coverage to require coverage for psychiatry, psychology, and pharmaceutical services. The bill also changed some credentialing requirements for providers of applied behavioral analysis.

This bill added the section of the state insurance law about autism coverage, which is summarized at the bottom of this page under “Rhode Island Parity Law.” Bill H 7165/S 2560 from 2012 made very minor additions to this section (summarized above).