Protecting the Most Vulnerable

Launching a Targeted Affordability Program to Keep Rhode Islanders Insured

• The recent expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies impacts approximately 40,000 Rhode Islanders insured through HealthSource RI (HSRI). These individuals and families are seeing their premium costs double on average. HSRI estimates that approximately 13,000 customers will forgo coverage by 2027 because of this steep cost increase.
• To ensure that as many individuals and families as possible remain insured, Governor McKee proposes a targeted affordability program that will replace the expired subsidies for all households under 200 percent of the federal poverty level (e.g., $42,300 for a household of two and $64,300 for a household of four in the current calendar year). The program, which would be funded with $9.9 million in Fiscal Year 2027, is projected to keep health insurance more affordable for over 20,000 Rhode Islanders.

Investing in Technology and Personnel to Navigate Federal Changes

• Beginning December 31, 2026, approximately 24,600 Medicaid beneficiaries are projected to be at risk for Medicaid disenrollment because of a new work requirement. Similarly, a SNAP work requirement, which was expanded to new populations effective July 4, 2025, impacts about 9,000 households.
• In addition, H.R. 1 creates a new state cost-sharing structure tied to each state’s SNAP payment error rate (PER) — with states required to contribute up to 15% of total SNAP benefit costs if their PER exceeds federal thresholds beginning in Federal Fiscal Year 2028.
• To respond effectively and ensure eligible Rhode Islanders receive the full benefits they are entitled to, the State will invest approximately $20 million in upgraded eligibility systems, staffing, and operational tools. These investments will help prevent wrongful terminations, reduce SNAP error rates, and preserve as much federal funding as possible.

Rural Health Transformation Program

• To strengthen access to care in underserved communities, Rhode Island secured more than $156 million in first-year funding through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program. These investments will expand access to care through Federally Qualified Health Centers, make significant new investments in primary care and preventive services, support hospitallevel care delivered safely in patients’ homes, advance value-based care models that reward quality and outcomes, expand behavioral health and addictiontreatment capacity, modernize health IT systems, grow the health-care workforce, strengthen mobile health and emergency medical services, support local health systems such as Block Island and the Narragansett Indian Tribe, and build integrated community-based care so Rhode Islanders in rural areas can access coordinated, affordable services closer to home.
• The program will pursue targeted policy reforms to expand access and strengthen the health care workforce, including scaling back certificate-of-need laws, joining the physician assistant licensure compact, and expanding scope-of-practice authority to support a more competitive, patient-centered system.

Uncompensated Care Support

• In response to federal cuts under H.R. 1, the Governor proposes increasing state support for uncompensated care by delivering approximately $10 million in new funding to help offset hospital losses.

Doubling the Rhode Island Community Food Bank Grant

• Demand for food assistance remains high—particularly following the federal shutdown and SNAP policy changes under H.R. 1. To help meet this growing need, the Governor proposes doubling the State’s annual grant to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank from $1 million to $2 million in FY 2027, ensuring families continue to have access to nutritious food during this period of federal uncertainty.

Supporting Planned Parenthood

• To help preserve access to essential preventive and reproductive health services amid federal funding reductions, the Governor proposes a $600,000 direct state grant to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.