Official State of Rhode Island website

Governor Dan McKee RI 2030 Plan Charting a Course for the Future of the Ocean State

Strengthening Rhode Island’s Healthcare System

  • Opened the Rhode Island State Psychiatric Hospital (RISPH). The new hospital operates in a facility that had been part of Eleanor Slater Hospital and treats psychiatric and court-ordered forensic patients who have serious mental illnesses. Operating this separately licensed hospital has better positioned the state to care for these patients and it has better positioned the state to seek federal matches that support patient care.
  • Committed to invest in the creation of a new Long-Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH) to serve patients who need acute care and extended services while they await an appropriate discharge option. In 2022, BHDDH recommended a 100-bed long-term acute care facility that serves patients needing hospital level care
    and those needing extended services.
  • Changed Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments to hospitals to new State Directed Payments, which provide additional funding to hospitals by paying a percentage of average commercial rates to reduce the gap between Medicaid hospital rates and commercial rates. This mechanism optimizes federal funding and strengthens our state’s health system in ways that better support affordable and accessible services to maximize health outcomes for all Rhode Islanders.
  • Ranked 3rd in the nation in 2023 for healthcare access, according to Forbes Advisor, with the highest number of primary care physicians (25.89 per 10,000 state residents) and highest percentage of need met in primary care provider shortage areas (72.13 percent).
  • Completed the Return to Normal Operations process with an average passive renewal rate of 59 percent (meaning individuals and families did not need to return paperwork to be renewed on Medicaid) and about a
    quarter of those leaving Medicaid enrolled with HealthSource RI to continue to get affordable coverage. Of those terminated from Medicaid, 78.4 percent remain covered in some way.
  • Joined the national Nurse Licensure Compact in 2024, allowing nurses in 42 states who hold a nationally recognized Multi-State License to come to Rhode Island and work. Rhode Island nurses with Multi-State Licenses will also be able to work in any of these other states.
  • Approved a new degree-granting nursing program at Providence College which will assist in training new nurses who choose to stay and work in Rhode Island.
  • Signed legislation that allow certain categories of licensed healthcare professionals to conduct telehealth services.
  • Proposed updated OHIC regulations to require insurers to (1) direct 10 percent of their payments to primary care over the coming years and (2) reduce prior authorization volume by 20 percent, an essential measure to alleviate the administrative burdens experienced by patients and providers.
  • Continued the Physician Visa Waiver Program for Rhode Island, allowing physicians from other countries to stay in the U.S. and practice in an area of high need. This program offers a path to retain primary care providers in Rhode Island and helps ensure that the state’s healthcare workforce is representative of its diverse populations. In 2024, RIDOH sponsored 25 physicians.
  • Provided up to $50,000 per student to repay student loans for primary care, behavioral health, and dental health professionals who commit to serving in a federally designated health professional shortage area of high need for two years through the Health Professional Loan Repayment Program. In 2024, the program received a record-setting 142 applications.
  • Developed a loan repayment and support navigational tool, continuously identifying and designating professional shortage areas so that those professions can access Rhode Island’s various loan repayment programs and initiatives to aid recruitment and retention.
  • Signed an Executive Order establishing a State Health Care System Planning (HCSP) Cabinet that will take a unified, interdepartmental approach to evaluating and proposing recommendations for Rhode Island’s healthcare system. The planning effort will be led by the state and will include and align closely with the private sector, community partners, and healthcare consumers throughout the process.
  • Expanded Medicaid coverage to all children who are income eligible, regardless of immigration status.
  • Expanded postpartum Medicaid continuous eligibility from 60-days to 12-months, regardless of immigration status.
  • Signed legislation giving Rhode Island health care providers a protective legal shield for helping people seeking access to transgender and reproductive healthcare services. This shield prevents civil or criminal action against Rhode Island providers by other states or people.
  • Added the Ticket to Work eligibility pathway for working disabled individuals under age 65, allowing this population to buy into Medicaid with sliding scale premiums without an income or asset limit.
  • Expanded Medicaid benefits to include the following services: Community Health Worker, Doula, Prenatal First Connections, and Parents as Teachers.
  • Implemented Healthy Families America and the Nurse-Family Partnership, two free services that provide resources and services to pregnant people and families with young children.
  • Added School Psychologists, LMFT-Associates and LMHC-Associates to the qualified providers able to be reimbursed for covered Clinician’s Services.
  • Implemented provider rate increases recommended by the OHIC.

The Road to RI 2030: State HealthCare Goals

  • Empower individuals to navigate the healthcare system, understand medical information, and utilize tools like telehealth and self-monitoring to make informed decisions and take control of their health.
  • Work with the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to move forward with plans to construct a new LTACH facility. Complete design process and construction manager at-risk procurement for LTACH project in 2025 and keep pace with an aggressive project delivery timeline of construction completion by mid-2028.
  • Implement data modernization efforts in the Center for Vital Records to achieve
    operational efficiencies to enhance electronic connections and the exchange of eligibility and enrollment information to state health and social services, such as Medicaid which will improve claims processing.
  • Continue to develop an electronic medical records (EMR) system throughout the state hospital system, beginning with Eleanor Slater Hospital and RISPH, and begin implementation by mid-2025.
  • Advocate for reducing red tape in Certificate of Need (CON) laws to expand access to home care, home nursing care, and hospice services, fostering greater competition and improving patient options. Scaling back CON laws in certain areas has been shown to expand access to low-cost alternatives to care and lower Medicaid costs.
  • Direct OHIC to include primary care providers in the next round of rate reviews.
  • Complete the ligature abatement and renovation project at the Regan facility.