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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- H 6120 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002471 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LICENSING OF HEALTHCARE FACILITIES |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Representative David P. Morales |
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| 17 | 17 | | Date Introduced: March 03, 2023 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred To: House Finance |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 23-17 of the General Laws entitled "Licensing of Healthcare 1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Facilities" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 23-17-28.1. Medical debt relief. 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | (a) As used in this section the following definitions have the following meaning: 4 |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) "Creditor" means: 5 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (i) A health care provider to whom a medical debt is owed; or 6 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (ii) A person that has purchased a medical debt once owed to a health care provider. 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | (2) "Health care provider" means the same as that term is defined in ยง 23-17.16-2. 8 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (3) "Medical debt" means a Rhode Island resident's debt for goods or services provided by 9 |
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| 31 | 31 | | a health care provider. 10 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (4) "Medical debt relief entity" means a nonprofit entity that: 11 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (i) Purchases medical debt from creditors; and 12 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (ii) Forgives the medical debt. 13 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (5) "Medical debt relief restricted account" means the account created in subsection (b) of 14 |
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| 36 | 36 | | this section. 15 |
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| 37 | 37 | | (b) Medical debt relief restricted account. 16 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (1) There is created within the general fund a restricted account known as the "medical 17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | debt relief restricted account." 18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (2) The medical debt relief restricted account consists of: 19 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC002471 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (i) Appropriations by the general assembly; 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | (ii) Contributions by government entities, individuals, or other persons; and 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | (iii) Interest earned on the account. 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (3) Funds in the medical debt relief restricted account may only be used to fund medical 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | debt relief in accordance with this section. 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (c) Using appropriations by the general assembly from the medical debt relief restricted 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | account, the department shall contract with one or more medical debt relief entities for the purchase 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | and forgiveness of medical debt. 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (2) The department shall report the the department of health in September of each even-9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | numbered year on debts purchased and forgiven under this section without disclosing information 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | that could be used to identify individual debtors or creditors. 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | (3) The department may use funds appropriated from the medical debt relief restricted 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | account to pay for the costs of administering contracts under this section. 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (d) Appropriation. The general assembly shall appropriate for the fiscal year beginning 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024 the amount of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | this program. These are additions to amounts previously appropriated for fiscal year 2024. 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | ======== |
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| 62 | 62 | | LC002471 |
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| 63 | 63 | | ======== |
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| 64 | 64 | | |
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| 65 | 65 | | |
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| 66 | 66 | | LC002471 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 67 | 67 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 68 | 68 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 69 | 69 | | OF |
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| 70 | 70 | | A N A C T |
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| 71 | 71 | | RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LICENSING OF HEALTHCARE FACILITIES |
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| 72 | 72 | | *** |
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| 73 | 73 | | This act would require the department of health to contract with medical debt relief entities 1 |
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| 74 | 74 | | for the purchase and forgiveness of medical debt. 2 |
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| 75 | 75 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 3 |
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| 76 | 76 | | ======== |
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| 77 | 77 | | LC002471 |
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| 78 | 78 | | ======== |
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