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Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts Praises Passage of Primary Care Designation Requirement

PROVIDENCE – Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts, Chair of the Healthcare Reform Commission, praised the Rhode Island General Assembly for passing bills H-7687 and S-2129, introduced by Rep. Teresa Tanzi (D-Narragansett) and Sen. Donna Nesselbush (D-Pawtucket). The bills place into Rhode Island law a requirement that an individual who has insurance designate a participating primary care provider and that the insurer will collect the designation information from the individual insured. Lt. Governor Roberts thanked Governor Chafee for signing the bill into law.

"There is a direct benefit to identifying and developing a relationship with a primary care provider, namely to ensure the most effective and efficient delivery of care by coordinating our ongoing healthcare needs," Roberts said.

In addition, the primary care designation supports the patient-centered medical home, an innovative program for improving primary care. In a medical home, the designated primary care physician will play a key role in coordinating care with specialty physicians and other members of a care team as needed, to avoid duplication of unnecessary tests and treatments.

For more information on this bill, visit www.healthcare.ri.gov.

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