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HB 8308

AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- PRIMARY CARE CONTRACTING GOOD FAITH ACT

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Megan Cotter and 7 co-sponsors

Requires payers to negotiate in good faith with primary care practices at least every 24 months, considering rising costs, while barring discriminatory refusals.

04/14/2026 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
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Bill Summary · HB 8308

Summary of HB 8308 (2026) – Primary Care Contracting Good Faith Act

Purpose and intent

  • Establishes a new statutory framework requiring certain health care payers to negotiate in good faith with primary care physician practices.
  • Aims to ensure fair contracting practices by mandating regular negotiations that consider rising practice costs and other economic factors.

Key provisions

Section 27-84-1. Short title

  • Enacts the “Primary Care Contracting Good Faith Act” as Chapter 84 of Title 27 (Insurance).

Section 27-84-2. Mandatory good-faith negotiations

  • Definitions:
    • “Payer” includes commercial insurers, managed care organizations, and Medicare Advantage plans.
  • Obligation:
    • Every payer must negotiate in good faith with any primary care physician practice at least once every 24 months.
    • Negotiations must explicitly consider:
    • Increases in operating costs
    • Inflation
    • Staff wages
    • Malpractice premiums
    • Other overhead factors

Section 27-84-3. Prohibition on discriminatory refusals

  • Payers are prohibited from refusing to negotiate or to enter/renew a contract solely based on:
    • Practice size
    • Ownership structure
    • Patient panel size
    • Medicaid volume

Section 27-84-4. Enforcement

  • The Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) will:
    • Maintain a negotiation request log
    • Issue annual summary reports
    • Review complaints under the OHIC’s existing authority

Who is affected

  • Payers:
    • Commercial insurers
    • Managed care organizations
    • Medicare Advantage plans
  • Primary care physician practices that contract with these payers

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Timing:
    • The act would take effect 90 days after passage.
  • Monitoring and enforcement:
    • OHIC to track negotiation requests, publish annual summaries, and handle complaints through existing enforcement channels.
  • Compliance cadence:
    • Negotiations must occur at least once every 24 months per payer-practice pair.

Impact considerations

  • Financial and operational transparency:
    • Requires payers to explicitly weigh costs and overhead factors in negotiations, potentially influencing reimbursement terms, network participation, and contract structure.
  • Access and bargaining parity:
    • Aims to reduce barriers for smaller or non-traditionally structured primary care practices by prohibiting discriminatory negotiation practices.
  • Oversight:
    • Establishes ongoing oversight and public reporting through OHIC, enabling accountability and visibility of payer negotiation activity.

Overview

HB 8308 seeks to formalize and enforce good-faith negotiations between major payers and primary care practices, with explicit consideration of rising costs and practice expenses, and protections against discriminatory contracting practices. The measure is enforceable by OHIC and becomes law 90 days after passage.

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

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