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| 07/15/2025 |
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| 07/08/2025 |
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| 07/03/2025 |
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Bill to reduce prior authorization requirements for primary care signed
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Legislation creates a 3-year pilot program freeing PCPs from time-consuming roadblock to patient care
Legislation sponsored by Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman Melissa Murray and Rep. Brandon Potter to create a three-year pilot program prohibiting insurers from requiring prior authorization for medically necessary health care services ordered by patients’ primary care providers was signed into law Wednesday.
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| 07/02/2025 |
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Bill to end payday lending signed into law
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Legislation sponsored by Rep. Karen Alzate and Sen. Ana B. Quezada that will repeal the exception that allows payday lending to operate in Rhode Island has been signed into law.
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| 07/01/2025 |
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Laws enacted to make it easier for patients to get prescriptions
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Bills help address frustrating delays and provide help amid primary care crisis
Two new laws sponsored by Sen. Pamela J. Lauria and Rep. Michelle McGaw will help patients get their prescriptions expeditiously in situations when their prescriber can’t be reached, or when their insurers want to substitute equivalent drugs or devices.
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| 07/01/2025 |
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New law protects 340B discount prescription program
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A new law sponsored by Sen. Bridget Valverde and Rep. Jon D. Brien will protect a critical discount pharmaceutical program that enables safety-net hospitals, clinics and other health care agencies to provide care to the most vulnerable Rhode Islanders.
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| 06/30/2025 |
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2026 budget bill becomes law
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The 2026 state budget bill has passed into law. Approved by the General Asembly June 20, the bill (2025-H 5076Aaa) establishes a balanced $14.34 billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year that closes budget gaps; bolsters Medicaid despite threats at the federal level; increases reimbursements for primary care providers, nursing homes and hospitals; and provides additional resources to address the housing crisis.
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| 06/27/2025 |
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| 06/26/2025 |
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Cat declawing to become illegal
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Rhode Island will soon join the many places that prohibit the declawing of cats under newly enacted legislation sponsored by Sen. Melissa A. Murray (D-Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield) and Rep. William W. O’Brien (D-Dist. 54, North Providence).
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| 06/26/2025 |
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Bill prohibiting electronic devices during school day signed
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Legislation sponsored by Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chairwoman Melissa Murray and Rep. Julie A. Casimiro has been signed into law, requiring every school in Rhode Island to have a policy on the use of personal electronics that prohibits students from having access to them during the school day. The bill takes effect Aug. 1, 2026.
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| 06/26/2025 |
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New law allows 90-day prescriptions for ADHD medications
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The governor has signed into law legislation sponsored by Rep. Michelle McGaw and Sen. Alana M. DiMario to help relieve a burden on patients, parents and physicians by tripling the amount of non-opioid, non-narcotic Schedule II prescription drugs — including most commonly prescribed ADHD medications — that can be dispensed at one time.
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| 06/26/2025 |
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| 06/23/2025 |
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General Assembly passes Speaker Shekarchi’s housing package
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House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi announced that 10 bills in his package of legislation regarding housing issues have passed the General Assembly.
This is Speaker Shekarchi’s fifth comprehensive suite of housing legislation since becoming Speaker in 2021. His efforts have resulted in the enactment of nearly 50 new housing laws coupled with historic investments in affordable housing, including the creation of Rhode Island’s first-ever permanent funding stream for affordable housing production.
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| 06/20/2025 |
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| 06/17/2025 |
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Assembly approves Gu and Casimiro’s bill to regulate crypto ATMs
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The General Assembly today approved legislation sponsored by Senate Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies Committee Chairwoman Victoria Gu and Rep. Julie A. Casimiro that aims to protect Rhode Islanders from a rapidly growing category of scams that use cryptocurrency ATMs to defraud victims.
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| 06/16/2025 |
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Bill enacted to test biosolids for PFAS
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Legislation is aimed at preventing contamination of food, soil and groundwater at farms
Legislation sponsored by Rep. Terri Cortvriend and Sen. Alana M. DiMario has been signed into law to require anyone applying for a permit to spread biosolids on land as fertilizer to first test the material for PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
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| 06/16/2025 |
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| 06/12/2025 |
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