RIAFP Policy
Brief: 1/5/01
RIte Care
and Family Medicine
This has been
a turbulent year for the health care system in Rhode Island. With
the disappearance of two health plans and the subsequent skyrocketing
of insurance premiums, many have faced the possibility of being left
uninsured for medical necessities. There has been one saving grace,
one shining star in health insurance in Rhode Island, and that is
the RIteCare program.
Originally designed
as a plan to cover uninsured children in Rhode Island, RIteCare was
expanded to include the parents of low-income children, as legislators
and policy makers understood that only healthy parents can raise healthy
children. As a result of aggressive state legislation, the RIteCare
expansion provided health insurance for thousands of Rhode Islanders.
By moving people
into the primary care-focused health services delivery model, RIteCare,
the state was able to decrease emergency room utilization rates and
costs by one-third, decrease hospital stays by one-third, decrease
rates of smoking, increase rates of prenatal care, and cut the number
of low birth weight babies in half.
But RIte Care
suffered from its own success. As the ranks of participants swelled,
RIteCare ran over budget, and Rhode Island was forced to limit eligibility
in order to save the program.
Let's renew our
commitment to health care for all, and let's fund that commitment
by expanding the primary care-focused health care system of RIteCare,
which leverages the saving from prevention and improved primary care
to pay for health care for all Rhode Islanders.
This is one
in a series of reports designed to advance Family Practice and primary
care in Rhode Island's health care system, as well as to discuss public
health issues of importance to all Rhode Islanders.
We welcome
the opportunity to further discuss the issues presented here. We can
be reached by phone at 508-336-5416, or by email at RIFamilyDocs@aol.com.
1/15/01
