RI Committee Recommends H-5046 Passage

The Rhode Island Committee on Health, Education and Welfare has recommended passage of H-5046, its version of Section 2706. This action follows this very strong letter of support (PDF) from the American Academy of Pain Management (AAPM).

Committee Chairman Joseph McNamara introduced the bill H 5046 last January. As we reported on our Rhode Island state page earlier this year, the bill was tabled and its future was thought to be uncertain.

In recent weeks we have seen two important actions related to Section 2706 that may have influenced Rhode Island supporters of the bill:

• The state of Oregon passed and signed into law a bill very similar to Rhode Island’s in that it borrows directly from the language of Section 2706.
• The US Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a new FAQ with new guidance on implementation of Section 2706 in the states.

The new FAQ replaces an FAQ from April of 2013 that was rebuked by then Sen. Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Appropriates Committee, for completely misconstruing the purpose of the legislation. The committee directed a re-write of the guidance. That update arrived at the end of May, almost two years later.

(We are still evaluating the new FAQ with our parent the IHPC. The new version retains some of the language that was thought to allow insurers to selectively add providers to their networks. Companies and state regulators have not yet directly responded to the new FAQ.)

For more on the flawed April 2013 FAQ, see this post, #ComplyWith2706, which was added the day before HHS issued the replacement.

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