Rhode Island
My doctor knew what care I needed. My insurance denied it | Opinion
People turning to ChatGPT for mental health help
A growing number of people are turning to ChatGPT for help with their mental health.
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I was diagnosed with anorexia when I was 17 years old. My extreme fear of gaining weight instilled a steely resolve to overexercise and pick at meals – no matter how hungry I felt. Eventually, I got too thin to be healthy.
My doctor recommended residential treatment. Only one local residential treatment center specialized in eating disorders. My mother and I toured the center, which was designed to be a warm, home-like environment, rather than a clinical ward. At that time, it accepted only women and girls, and I recall feeling relieved that I would be among people like myself, struggling with similar fears, fighting the same urges.
Then we learned our insurance wouldn’t cover it.
Instead, I was approved for four weeks at a generalized, institutional residential treatment center, where teens with a wide range of conditions – addiction, self-harm and behavioral issues – were treated together. There was no specialized care for eating disorders. No individualized treatment. I attended AA and NA meetings that weren’t relevant to my illness and did my best to make the most of them.
I stabilized and began eating again – not because the care was right, but because I was desperate to go home. After discharge, insurance covered four weeks of step-down care and outpatient therapy.
Anorexia has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric illness. I was fortunate: I recovered. But many others are not as lucky.
The care I received was dictated by my health insurance. Someone else could receive far less care, simply because they have a different plan. This is the inequity baked into our health care system: two people can present with the same illness, severity and clinical needs – and receive different treatment plans. Not because their doctors disagree, but because their insurance plans differ. When coverage determines care, recovery becomes a matter of luck.
Rhode Island has an opportunity to change that.
State lawmakers are considering legislation (S2564 and H7945) which would require insurers to use the same standards providers rely on when determining whether behavioral health treatment is medically necessary. These clinical guidelines are developed by nonprofit professional associations, grounded in medical research, and reflect consensus across the field. Currently, insurers may rely on internal guidelines that can vary, lack transparency, or fall short of generally accepted standards of care.
Many Rhode Islanders face barriers to behavioral health care: higher costs, delays and limited provider networks. Additional state reforms can help improve access.
- Bills S2687 and J7946 would codify federal parity regulations into state law. Parity requires insurers to cover behavioral health services on the same terms as medical services, including comparable limits, costs and access to services. In 2024, new federal rules strengthened these requirements, but a recent legal challenge from a group of employers has left them uncertain. The administration has stopped enforcing key provisions and has urged states to pause their own enforcement efforts. Rhode Island does not have to stand by and accept reduced access to behavioral health care – we can enshrine these critical protections in state law.
- Bills S2467 and H7943 would eliminate prior authorization for in-network behavioral health care, removing one of the most common sources of delay. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has had this policy in effect for years.
One in four Rhode Islanders lives with a mental health condition. Access to timely, appropriate care should not depend on an insurance plan.
When my doctor recommended care, he was guided by clinical expertise and clear standards of what I needed to recover. Our laws should require insurers to follow those same standards.
Because when it comes to behavioral health care, the stakes are too high to leave treatment up to chance.
Laurie-Marie Pisciotta is executive director of Mental Health Association of Rhode Island.
Watch: Chariho softball beats North Kingstown to reach title game
Watch as Chariho softball beats North Kingstown to reach state title game.
Super Saturday has arrived.
Today is the busiest day of the 2026 RIIL spring sports schedule, with championships being play at Rhode Island College and Brown University. Baseball, softball, lacrosse, volleyball and track and field athletes will all be chasing gold.
It’s a lot of keep track of, so here’s a handy schedule of the day’s events to keep your head from spinning.
High School Schedule – June 6
⚾BASEBALL – State Championship Game 2
No. 1 Hendricken vs. No. 3 East Providence at Rhode Island College, 12 p.m.
⚾BASEBALL – D-II Championship Game 1
No. 2 West Warwick vs. No. 1 East Greenwich at Rhode Island College, 4 p.m.
🥎SOFTBALL – D-I Championship Game
No. 2 Chariho vs. No. 1 La Salle at Rhode Island College, 5:30 p.m.
🥎SOFTBALL – D-II Championship
No. 7 Ponaganset vs. No. 1 Lincoln at Rhode Island College, 7:30 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – State Championship
No. 1 La Salle vs. No. 2 Moses Brown at Brown University, 11 a.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-II Championship
No. 1 Westerly vs. No. 3 Portsmouth at Brown University, 1:30 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-III Championship
No. 1 Mt. Hope vs. No. 3 Lincoln at Brown University, 4 p.m.
🥍BOYS LACROSSE – D-IV Championship
No. 1 Scituate vs. No. 2 Rogers at Brown University, 6 p.m.
🏃Track and Field
RIIL Boys State Championship Meet at Brown University, 11 a.m.
RIIL Girls State Championship Meet at Brown University, 11 a.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – State Championship
No. 1 La Salle vs. No. 2 Hendricken, 5 p.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – D-II Championship
No. 1 West Warwick vs. No. 2 Westerly at Rhode Island College, 2:30 p.m.
🏐BOYS VOLLEYBALL – D-III Championship
No. 1 Mt. Hope vs. No. 3 Exeter-West Greenwich, 12 p.m.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 5, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from June 5 drawing
13-30-50-52-66, Mega Ball: 02
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from June 5 drawing
Midday: 5-3-4-8
Evening: 6-7-9-7
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from June 5 drawing
01-06-07-12-32, Extra: 05
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 5 drawing
06-38-51-54-55, Bonus: 05
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.
Rhode Island
The Most Expensive House in Rhode Island—Around the Corner From Taylor Swift’s Home—to Ask $23.5 Million
A waterfront estate in Rhode Island could set a record in the same neighborhood where Taylor Swift owns a home.
The 2.75-acre estate on Pawcatuck Avenue in the village of Watch Hill will soon hit the open market for $23.5 million, making it the most expensive active listing in Rhode Island. The property is in Westerly, a peninsula in the state’s western-most section, at the meeting point with Connecticut and New York.
MORE: A Former Gilded Age Inn Perched on a Cliff Above the Hudson River Lists for $2.9 Million
The main New England-style home spans 7,000 square feet across four levels, with five bedrooms, several reception rooms, a wet bar and a wine cellar. There is also a three-bedroom guest house, which spans close to 5,000 square feet, along with a saltwater pool surrounded by a bluestone deck and a newly refinished tennis court, according to the listing with Geb Masterson of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.
“Properties don’t often come up for sale in Watch Hill,” Masterson said via email. “People and families often stay for generations, holding onto the homes their parents bought.”
The property, which has an alternate address on Bay Street, is fully outfitted with amenities for waterfront living, including a boat house, boat garage and a dock that can accommodate a 70-foot yacht. There is also a three-bedroom guest house, according to the listing.
Swift has owned a home in the Watch Hill neighborhood since 2013—a bolthole where the global pop star reportedly throws the best July 4th bash in town. Additionally, earlier in the year, Swift and her fiance, football star Travis Kelce, were rumored to be marrying in a coastal wedding venue nearby, but recent gossip suggests the wedding will actually be held in New York City in less than a month, on July 3.
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The sellers purchased the Watch Hill property in April 2020 for $10.4 million via a trust, from the family who built it in 2006, according to records accessed through PropertyShark. The 2020 sale was approved by a Connecticut District bankruptcy court, as the prior owner was in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings related to the home as well as to a ski resort he owned in Vermont, according to court documents and news reports.
The sellers and previous owners couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
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