Lt. Gov. seeks to extend RIte Care<br> to displaced workers

PROVIDENCE – Lt. Gov. Elizabeth H. Roberts has introduced a bill to allow workers who have lost their jobs and are eligible for COBRA benefits to instead buy into Rhode Island’s Medicaid managed care program, RIte Care, through their insurance company.
COBRA gives displaced workers and their families the right to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan, but because of cost, many unemployed Rhode Islanders choose to forgo coverage, Roberts noted in a news release.
The RIte Care option would be a lower-cost alternative for many, the release says, and thus has the potential to insure many out-of-work Rhode Islanders who would otherwise go without coverage. Individuals and families who chose RIte Care would have to pay the full cost, and insurers would add an administrative fee, which Roberts said would ensure no additional cost to the state for the program.
“Over and over again, I hear of families in this state who cannot afford their COBRA coverage, and therefore go without insurance,” said Roberts. “This legislation adds a cost-saving option for Rhode Islanders, allowing them to keep their health coverage during these difficult times.”
The bill is H-5397, sponsored by Rep. Agostinho F. Silva, D-Central Falls, and in the Senate, S-391, sponsored by Sen. Charles Levesque, D-Portsmouth, and Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston, Sen. Elizabeth Crowley, D-Central Falls, Sen. John Tassoni Jr., D-Smithfield, and Sen. Erin Lynch, D-Warwick.
The entire bill and a summary are posted at www.ltgov.state.ri.us.