Rhode Island
AG urges R.I. health insurance commissioner to reject proposed premium hikes
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha repeated his calls to fix the state’s ailing health care system in a memo opposed to proposed health insurance premium hikes. The memo also contained thoughts on the subpar funding and financials of Rhode Island’s hospitals, which Neronha also discussed at length during a Health Care Summit at the Rhode Island State House on May 28, 2024, seen here. (Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
Deny, deny, deny: That’s what Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is asking the state’s health insurance commissioner to do with the premium hikes requested by a half dozen Rhode Island insurance companies for 2025.
Neronha’s office shared on Tuesday a letter to Cory King, who leads the state’s Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC). In his letter, Neronha asks the commissioner to reject health insurers’ requested increases that “range from an arguably modest 2.5% to an astronomical 22.7%.”
Earlier this month, Neronha issued a memo opposing proposed 2025 rates by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the only individual market insurer who submitted an increase more than 10% higher. Neronha’s latest critique is a blanket rejection of proposed increases for small- and large-group plans from six insurance companies.
Neronha being at odds with health insurers is nothing new — he recommended against requested rate hikes last year, too. King’s office approved most requested rates, albeit with a few percentage points shaved off, which still led to a savings of approximately $24 million. The commissioner is expected to release his office’s decision on this year’s proposed rates later this month.
The Office of Attorney General uses actuaries to analyze proposed rate increases and determine their feasibility. The health insurance commissioner also analyzes the rates, solicits public feedback and ultimately approves or denies the requested increases.
Neronha, whose job duties include consumer protection, wrote in his latest memo that actuarial recommendations might only scratch the surface of a deeper problem.
“It is not the role of the Attorney General to simply advise whether the actuarial projections provided by an insurer can support requested rate increases; rather, it is incumbent upon the Attorney General to also determine whether such increases are warranted given the health care and economic landscape against which they are sought,” Neronha wrote. “[T]o put it bluntly, we have a system that is broken.”
Neronha pointed out in his memo that “despite significant collective” investment in the health care system, U.S. residents don’t get much bang for their buck, with life expectancy six years lower than in similar countries and subpar health outcomes for people of color.
Another systemic problem, specific to Rhode Island: The health insurance commissioner only had jurisdiction over about 15% of Rhode Islanders, thanks to what Neronha calls “the fractured nature of our regulatory scheme.” King’s office reviews rates for only certain kinds of insurance. Self-insured employers who offer insurance via the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) are exempt because federal law dictates those arrangements.
Still, Neronha added in a footnote that some health insurers have started to use this office’s tips on methodology, such as changing the data sources used for calculating manual rates, tweaking risk adjustment calculations or calculating small group rates based on comparable data from Massachusetts rather than Pennsylvania.
“Yet, even when robust actuarial methods are followed, rate increases continue,” Neronha wrote.
In response to Neronha’s latest critique, Blue Cross reiterated its previous statement: Rising prescription drug costs and higher utilization of medical services in the post-pandemic age ultimately led Blue Cross to an operating loss of $26 million in 2023, wrote spokesperson Jeremy Duncan in an email Thursday.
Spokespeople for both Neighborhood Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare had no comment on Neronha’s memo. The latter had the priciest request overall, with a proposed 22.7% hike on small group market rates.
Neronha’s office did not respond to multiple requests for copies of its actuaries’ reports and recommendations.
Any proposed rate increase over 10% requires review by the attorney general’s office, which is why Neronha targeted Blue Cross in his earlier comments and left alone Neighborhood, with its 5.6% increase. But the most expensive proposals — and the largest number of people whose premiums would be affected — are found in the proposed increases for small- and large-group plans offered by employers.
Al Charbonneau, executive director of Rhode Island Business Group on Health (RIBGH), wrote in an emailed statement that the group “agrees with the Attorney General that our healthcare system, both in Rhode Island and across the country, is indeed broken…and we support the Attorney General’s call for more substantial changes.”
The rate increases should be rejected, Charbonneau wrote, as they contribute to an “unsustainable” and expensive situation for Rhode Island consumers. A recent brief from the group found that nearly 28% of median household income can now be attributed to Rhode Island’s commercial family premiums.
“Our analysis shows that the delivery system is the major cause of increasing premiums, although all involved in the provision of services and insurance need to contribute more to affordability,” Charbonneau wrote. “RIBGH supports the idea of paying more to primary care physicians and nursing personnel but also calls for a thorough understanding of where the money was spent if it was not used to support nurses, for example.”
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Health professionals are warning Rhode Islanders to look out for a fast-moving threat in the brush this summer: the Lone star tick.
NBC 10’s Martha Konstandinidis went out to see the increase in ticks firsthand and has some simple steps to protect your family.
(WJAR) — The Rhode Island House has passed a Bill that offers a rare alternative when considering end-of-life options: water cremation and human composting.
These processes are actually considered better for the environment.
Instead of being rooted in flames during cremation, remains are placed in water and no greenhouse gases are released.
Tom Harries, CEO of Earth Funeral – Green Funeral Home, explains the natural organic reduction also known as human composting, process while standing in front of an actual vessel in the warehouse during a tour at their new location, which will open in Elkridge. Eventually it will house 126 vessels. Jeffrey F. Bill/Baltimore Sun)
Last year NBC 10 was able to get a first-hand look into how it works.
The John F. Tierney Funeral Home in Connecticut became one of the first in Southern New England to offer water cremation or “Aquamation” for humans.
Remains are placed into a machine, and water begins to circulate, leaving bone material behind.
Human composting uses fertile soil to break down remains.
Lawmakers on both sides spoke before the vote.
It passed 47-17.
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It now heads to the Senate.
(WJAR) — Rhode Island mayors are spending taxpayer dollars on out-of-state travel, attending conferences, summits, and networking events across the country while away from the cities they were elected to lead.
Public records obtained by the NBC 10 I-Team shows the mayors of Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls used public funds for out-of-state travel between March 2025 and March 2026. The mayors of Cranston, East Providence, and North Providence traveled out of state during that period but reported spending no taxpayer money on those trips.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spent $5,061.60 tied to 20 days of out-of-state travel, including $2,676.39 in city funds.
Grebien’s trips included the AGRIP Conference with the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust, Rhode Island Day in Washington, a Business Leaders Day conference hosted by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Veterans Honor Flight, and a medical mission to Cape Verde with Project Health.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spoke about his travel. (WJAR)
“I try to use the least amount of city dollars, use some campaign, and then put some of the private as well,” Grebien said. “I do understand the perception, and that’s why I’m very, very careful.”
Asked how much time at conferences is spent working versus networking, Grebien said, “It’s probably honestly 60-40, 60% work and 40% off time by the time you get everything going.”
Several Rhode Island mayors attended Rhode Island Day in Washington alongside the state’s congressional delegation, despite lawmakers regularly returning to Rhode Island.
Grebien defended the trips as an opportunity to meet federal officials and pursue funding opportunities for the city.
“We are able on those days to go down and meet with department heads, so we have a lot of grants that we are in front of — HUD, the National Park Service — so it gives us that opportunity while we are there to do that,” he said.
Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien spent $5,061.60 tied to 20 days of out-of-state travel, including $2,676.39 in city funds. (WJAR)
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley spent more than 30 days out of state during the one-year period, according to records.
“Most of my travel is with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which is hugely valuable,” Smiley said.
Invoices show Smiley attended five conferences or summits across the country, more than any other Rhode Island mayor.
Those trips included the U.S. Conference of Mayors Summer Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida; the U.S. Conference of Mayors Fall Leadership Meeting in Oklahoma less than three months later; the North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans; the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in Washington; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Annual Meeting.
Records also show Smiley traveled to Israel with the Rhode Island Jewish Alliance and took a personal trip to Portugal.
Rhode Island mayors are spending taxpayer dollars on out-of-state travel, attending conferences, summits, and networking events across the country while away from the cities they were elected to lead.
The city spent $1,793.75 on conference registration fees for two of Smiley’s trips.
While Smiley was in Providence during the Brown University shooting, he had been traveling the week before. When asked what would happen if a trip coincided with a city emergency, Smiley said he remains accessible.
“My travel is almost entirely domestic, and I have ready access to get home quickly,” Smiley said. “I was not prevented from doing my job at any point last year or this year either.”
The investigation found Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera spent the most taxpayer money on travel during the period reviewed.
Rivera spent $3,302.23 on 17 days of out-of-state travel. That total included $717 from the police department budget for a joint trip with the city’s police chief.
Rivera traveled to Washington for the Yale Mayor’s College and CEO Caucus and Rhode Island Day, to Atlanta for the Purpose-Built Communities Conference, to Puerto Rico for the Northeast Leadership Conference hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of Rhode Island, and to Chicago for meetings with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and police chiefs.
Rivera said the trips are necessary to build relationships and secure funding opportunities for Central Falls.
“Not every community has a $22 million budget, right? A lot of these communities have more funding,” Rivera said.
Central Falls City Hall. (WJAR)
Rivera pointed to a connection she made during a trip to Chicago that later resulted in funding for the city.
“This was a relationship I built when I went on one of these trips and I was able to get $25,000 for our summer food service program for this year,” she said.
When asked why she does not personally pay for conference travel, Rivera said the costs are difficult to cover privately.
“I wish I could pay for these trips out of my pocket, but it’s really hard,” Rivera said. “I am very careful. We get requests all the time. I don’t go to all these trips.”
Rivera was also the only mayor interviewed who said she canceled travel plans because of a city emergency, including a February 2026 trip to Washington that coincided with a blizzard.
Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins spent six days out of state attending two national conferences but reported spending no city funds on the travel.
Those conferences included the Community Leaders of America CLA|FCL South Carolina Spring National Conference in April 2025 and the CLA|FCL South Dakota Fall National Conference in October 2025. Attendance for both trips was paid for by the conference organization.
East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva spent 12 days out of the city on two international trips, also without spending city funds.
DaSilva’s office says he traveled to Cabo Verde in July 2025 with several state and local leaders to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary of independence. He also traveled to Sao Miguel in the Azores in June 2025 for the “Sister Cities Summit,” which was paid for by FLAD, the Luso-American Development Foundation.
North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi spent 26 days out of state on five personal trips or vacations and one charitable honor flight, according to records reviewed by the I-Team.
The town said no city or campaign funds were used for Lombardi’s travel.
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