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HB 6244

AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LICENSING OF HEALTHCARE FACILITIES

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Karen Alzate and 9 co-sponsors

Strengthens Rhode Island patient rights for licensed facilities: privacy, access to records and billing, timely responses, and bans asking about immigration status.

07/01/2025 Signed by Governor
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Bill Summary · HB 6244

Summary — HB 6244 (Sub A) — Licensing of Healthcare Facilities (Health & Safety)

Status: Signed by the Governor (effective upon passage — 07/01/2025)
Introduced: April 23, 2025 (Substitute A introduced June 10, 2025)
Primary action: Amends R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-17-19.1 (rights of patients in licensed healthcare facilities)

Purpose / Intent

To enumerate and clarify patient rights that licensed healthcare facilities must observe, strengthen protections for privacy and access to records and billing information, require certain timely responses by providers, and prohibit healthcare facilities from asking patients about their immigration status.

Key provisions

  • Establishes a detailed list of patient rights that all licensed healthcare facilities must observe, including:
    • Considerate and respectful care.
    • Upon request, disclosure of the physician responsible for coordinating care and the person responsible for specific tests/procedures.
    • Right to refuse treatment to the extent allowed by law.
    • Respect for patient privacy and confidentiality of treatment records except as otherwise provided by law.
    • Reasonable response to requests from the patient or the patient’s physician, certified nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.
    • Notification of need for and alternatives to transfer before transferring a patient.
    • Disclosure, on request, of other institutions authorized to participate in the patient’s treatment and the nature of those relationships.
    • Human-subjects research: patients must be fully informed and offered the right to refuse, except where an institutional review board (IRB) approves research consistent with federal informed-consent/de‑identification rules (21 C.F.R. Pt. 50; 45 C.F.R. Pt. 46).
    • Right to examine and receive an explanation of facility bills; summarized medical bill to be provided within 30 days of discharge; itemized bill on request (subsection 14 — not applicable to residents of state-operated institutions).
    • No fees for furnishing health records needed to support appeals under Social Security Act, workers’ compensation claims, or veterans’ benefit applications; providers must furnish such records within 30 days. “Provider” includes out‑of‑state entities that handle records for in‑state providers.
    • Right to regular pain assessment.
    • Right to receive information about hospice care (benefits, cost, enrollment) on request for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted-living residences, and home healthcare.
    • Right to use a personal portable television that meets Underwriters’ Laboratory and OSHA standards.
    • Explicit nondiscrimination: care may not be denied based on age, sex, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, race, color, marital/familial status, disability, religion, national origin, source of income/payment, or profession.
  • Prohibits healthcare facilities from asking about a patient’s immigration status or requiring proof of legal presence in the United States.
  • Allows the director (for school‑based health centers) to specify an alternative, age‑appropriate list of rights consistent with the section.
  • Timing: Act takes effect upon passage.

Who is affected

  • All healthcare facilities licensed under R.I. Chapter 23-17.
  • Patients and their authorized representatives (including veterans and those appealing to SSA or workers’ compensation).
  • Providers and any out‑of‑state entities that maintain medical records for Rhode Island providers.
  • Facilities will need to update policies, staff training and potentially record‑release and billing procedures to comply.

Procedural timeline (selected)

  • 04/23/2025: Sub A introduced in House (referred to House Health & Human Services).
  • 05/01/2025: Committee held measure for further study; later scheduled and recommended.
  • 06/10/2025: Proposed Substitute A filed.
  • 06/12–06/18/2025: Committee recommended passage; House passed Sub A (06/18/2025).
  • 06/20/2025: Senate passed Sub A in concurrence.
  • 06/25/2025: Transmitted to Governor.
  • 07/01/2025: Signed by Governor — effective upon passage.

Potential impacts and implementation considerations

  • Facilities must review and revise intake forms, staff training and record‑release/billing processes to remove immigration‑status inquiries and to ensure timely fulfillment of record requests and billing disclosures.
  • Administrative cost and operational changes likely (training, policy updates, potential IT/records workflow adjustments).
  • Legal compliance with federal IRB and informed-consent regulations remains relevant for research exceptions.
  • Enforcement mechanisms are those applicable to licensing and regulatory oversight by the state licensing agency (not specified in the text).

If you want, I can produce a one‑page compliance checklist facilities can use to implement the statute.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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