Rhode Island

Decades of inaction have wrought R.I.’s primary care crisis. We must address it right now, then nurse the state back to health. – The Boston Globe

Published

11 months ago

April 16, 2025

Decades of inaction have wrought R.I.’s primary care crisis. We must address it right now, then nurse the state back to health. – The Boston Globe

Yet, as a state, we have not properly maintained the health of our primary care environment, nor have we responded to the signs of its disintegration.

Now we must respond to a full-blown crisis.

Just as a person who suffers a heart attack receives emergency care and then is often advised to adopt lifestyle changes to restore their health, our state must deal with this crisis with emergency measures, as well as with medium- and long-term efforts to sustain and strengthen primary care.

While our Department of Health and Executive Office of Health and Human Services work to try to keep Anchor’s providers in Rhode Island, we and our Senate colleagues are working to enact legislation addressing Rhode Island’s shortage of primary care providers in the near and long term.

One root cause is clear: Primary care is reimbursed by health insurance at much lower rates than specialties, making it difficult for debt-burdened young providers to choose primary care when entering practice. Rhode Island is further disadvantaged in recruiting and keeping those who do go into primary care because our immediate neighbors are paying clinicians significantly more.

Senator Sosnowski has advocated for improved and equitable insurance payments to hospitals and providers for years. We must address reimbursement rates as an immediate step to maintain our current providers and recruit more to practice primary care here. That effort must include a Medicaid rate review for primary care providers now, not in 2027 as is proposed in the governor’s budget. It’s going to take continuing, coordinated effort to ensure our rates don’t force doctors to leave for surrounding states with higher rates, or choose other specialties.

Another immediate need is addressing the extra stressors on our primary care providers. Senator DiMario has focused on better supporting the incredibly under-resourced mental health system that would help PCPs and patients alike. We must also demand that insurers reduce the needless administrative burdens they place on primary care providers, and increase patients’ access to specialists to decrease time demands on PCPs. The R.I. Senate has focused on resolving these issues, and we currently have many bills under consideration to accomplish those goals.

Rhode Island must also make a concerted effort to encourage medical students to specialize in primary care, and to choose Rhode Island when they graduate. Senator Lauria has introduced bills that focus on those goals. One would fund four primary care residency positions annually at a community-based health care organization that provides primary care and support services to underserved populations, increasing our workforce and supporting these critical agencies. In addition, reducing student loan debt, scholarships for students entering medical school and studying to become nurse practitioners or physician’s assistants in exchange for a commitment to specialize in primary care and work in Rhode Island are all current proposals under consideration.

As we work to improve our primary care workforce, we must also build in a mechanism for accountability to consistently meet the health care needs of our communities. We need specific targets, action plans, and ongoing monitoring to first ensure every Rhode Islander has access to a primary care provider, and then to take earlier corrective action in the future, so we do not face this crisis again.

We are all members of the Senate’s commission exploring the education and retention of primary care providers in Rhode Island, whose charge, in part, is to consider the possibility of establishing a medical school at University of Rhode Island. While this commission’s work is ongoing, the possibility of a public educational pipeline graduating doctors right here in Rhode Island holds promise for sustainably addressing our shortage of primary care providers.

Our current primary care crisis is the product of decades of inaction. We urge our colleagues across state government to work collaboratively right now, and in the future, to nurse it back to health.

Senators Pamela J. Lauria (D-Dist. 32, Barrington, Bristol, East Providence), V. Susan Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, South Kingstown) and Alana M. DiMario (D-Dist. 26, Narragansett, North Kingstown, New Shoreham) are members of a Senate commission studying the education and retention of primary care physicians and the feasibility of establishing a medical school at URI.

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Rhode Island

RI Lottery Mega Millions, Numbers Midday winning numbers for March 10, 2026

Published

6 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 10 drawing

16-21-30-35-65, Mega Ball: 07

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from March 10 drawing

Midday: 9-1-3-0

Evening: 4-2-1-9

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from March 10 drawing

11-12-16-27-34, Extra: 05

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 10 drawing

03-27-43-45-49, Bonus: 04

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Rhode Island

Thousands drop public health insurance coverage in RI after premiums spike

Published

18 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Thousands drop public health insurance coverage in RI after premiums spike

Thousands of Rhode Islanders dropped their health insurance plans after federal subsidies expired.
Enrollment in HealthSource RI, the state’s marketplace, fell by 20% in early 2024.
The average premium for enrollees more than doubled as federal funding ended.

Thousands of Rhode Islanders dropped health insurance coverage through Rhode Island’s public insurance marketplace instead of maintaining plans with rising premiums and lower subsidies, HealthSource RI said.

Enrollment through HealthSource, Rhode Island’s “Obamacare” exchange, plunged 20% between the end of last year and the close of the annual enrollment period a month later, as federal funding for premium tax credits expired, according to a HealthSource new release.

There were 48,060 individual and family enrollments on Dec. 31 of last year, the day the premium subsidies from the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act ended.

On Feb. 1, there were 38,557 enrollments.

Before this drop, HealthSource has posted enrollment increases almost every year since Affordable Care Act exchanges launched in 2013.

How did we get here?

Last year, the Republican-controlled federal government declined to extend premium tax credits after a protracted budget battle with congressional Democrats, who are now negotiating to restore the health insurance subsidies.

The lapse in subsidies coincided with an increase in premiums, driven by a combination of factors, which sent the total cost of coverage climbing.

The average premium across HealthSource enrollees more than doubled (101%,) the exchange said, or $111 per person, per month.

Many enrollees opted for cheaper insurance plans despite their higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.

Others dropped coverage altogether.

“The increase in premiums, combined with the decrease in federal supports, makes this an incredibly challenging year for folks depending on HealthSource RI for health coverage,” HealthSource Director Lindsay Lang said in the release. “Having health coverage helps protect against one bad turn of luck becoming years of financial burden. We will work with every customer to find options that are best for their needs and budget, and continue to work with state leaders and our federal delegation to find long-term solutions.”

Could help be on the way?

Gov. Dan McKee included $9.5 million in his proposed state budget for the year starting July 1 to subsidize coverage for some of the lowest-income exchange enrollees.

The enrollment declines show that may be too little for some Rhode Islanders, and too late for others.

“It is disheartening but not surprising that, as President Trump’s policies have caused health insurance costs to skyrocket, more Rhode Islanders are struggling to pay for health coverage,” McKee said.

Since the exchange opened in 2013, Rhode Island’s uninsured rate has declined by two thirds, down to 2.2%, HealthSource said.

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Rhode Island

RI Lottery Powerball, Numbers Midday winning numbers for March 9, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at March 9, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from March 9 drawing

22-23-28-36-54, Powerball: 13, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from March 9 drawing

Midday: 5-7-4-4

Evening: 2-1-3-2

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from March 9 drawing

02-14-16-34-35, Extra: 10

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 9 drawing

06-16-26-41-43, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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