Bill > S2459

This bill establishes the Rhode Island Ban on the Corporate Practice of Medicine Act and the Rhode Island Transparency in Ownership and Control of Healthcare Entities Act, aiming to regulate who can own and control medical practices and healthcare facilities in the state. The Corporate Practice of Medicine Act generally prohibits individuals, corporations, or other entities without proper medical licensure from owning medical practices, employing healthcare professionals, or engaging in the practice of medicine, with specific exceptions for certain licensed entities that meet strict ownership and governance requirements, and for designated safety net and public healthcare providers. It also introduces regulations on contracts between medical practices and management services organizations, banning "straw ownership" where licensed owners don't have meaningful control, prohibiting dual roles that could create conflicts of interest, restricting stock transfer agreements, and voiding most non-compete agreements for healthcare providers unless they hold a significant ownership stake. Furthermore, it prohibits management services organizations from advertising medical practices under their own name and prevents medical practices from relinquishing administrative, business, or clinical control to non-licensed entities, with specific examples of prohibited control including decisions on hiring/firing staff, revenue disbursement, patient scheduling, staffing levels, and setting prices for services, though some delegation of operations to management services organizations is permitted if licensed owners retain ultimate control. The Transparency in Ownership and Control Act requires all healthcare entities to report detailed information about their ownership, control, and business structure to the Department of Health annually, including names, addresses, identification numbers, organizational charts, and financial reports, with the goal of increasing public understanding of who is behind healthcare operations in Rhode Island, and establishes enforcement mechanisms for both acts, including penalties from the Attorney General and the Department of Health, and a private right of action for individuals harmed by violations.

Health and Social Services

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