Earlier this month, the Rhode Island Senate released a new legislation package comprising 17 bills aimed at improving state health care. The bills propose funding for a medical school at the University of Rhode Island, loan repayment and scholarship programs for primary care physicians and financial support for mental health hotlines, among other initiatives.
“These proposals will support Rhode Islanders in crisis, protect patients and providers, and strengthen the health workforce,” Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and state Sen. Melissa Murray (D-Woonsocket, North Smithfield) said in a state press release. “Achieving our goals will be a long-haul effort, and our chamber remains truly committed to seeing it through.”
Several of the proposed bills address the state’s current shortage of primary care providers. When physician group Anchor Medical Associates closed last summer, around 25,000 R.I. patients were left without a primary care physician…