Establishes the Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement rates set by the general assembly as the rate floor for Medicaid managed care by home care, home nursing care and hospice providers.

Plain-English Summary

This bill is about how much money home care agencies, home nursing care providers, and hospice organizations get paid when they serve patients covered by Medicaid in Rhode Island. Currently, Medicaid operates through two different systems: "fee-for-service," where the state pays providers directly at rates set by the legislature, and "managed care," where private insurance-like companies manage patients' care and negotiate their own payment rates with providers. The problem this bill addresses is that managed care organizations sometimes pay providers *less* than the rates the legislature has established.

This bill would set the legislature's fee-for-service rates as a minimum floor for managed care payments. In other words, managed care organizations would no longer be allowed to pay home care, home nursing, or hospice providers less than what the state's fee-for-service system pays. Providers could still negotiate *higher* rates, but they could not be paid *lower* than the established floor.

The bill primarily affects home health aides, visiting nurses, and hospice workers — as well as the agencies that employ them — who serve Medicaid patients. By guaranteeing a minimum payment level, the bill could help these providers maintain stable staffing and services. Patients who rely on in-home care and end-of-life hospice services could also be affected, as more predictable provider funding may help ensure continued access to those services. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee for further review.