Rhode Island

Rhode Island health centers raise alarm over proposed Medicaid cuts – TPR: The Public's Radio

Published

1 year ago

February 24, 2025

Rhode Island health centers raise alarm over proposed Medicaid cuts – TPR: The Public's Radio

Famous homeowners like Taylor Swift have helped polish the image of Westerly, R.I. But the tony image belies a harsher reality for the year-round folks in this beach town.

More than one in five of the town’s roughly 23,100 residents – close to 5,000 people – are enrolled in Medicaid, the government insurance program for people with low-incomes or disabilities, according to the latest monthly report released by the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Now, many of those residents who work in the restaurants, hotels, bars and beach clubs which have made Westerly a vacation destination are at risk of losing their Medicaid coverage under a proposed plan by House Republicans, according to local health advocates and U.S. Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner.

The House Budget Committee voted on Feb. 13 to seek at least $880 billion in mandated spending cuts on programs overseen by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The committee oversees Medicaid, which is expected to bear the brunt of those cuts.

House Republicans, who have a narrow majority in Congress, are expected to vote on the budget proposal this week.

Magaziner said he plans to “try to convince at least a handful of House Republicans not to gut the health care of millions of people in order to pay for tax cuts for rich people.”

The proposed cuts, Magaziner and local health advocates said, would especially hurt nonprofit federally qualified health centers, the safety net of last resort for the uninsured, the underinsured, and other vulnerable people.

“But it’s not just low-income people,’’ Magaziner said in an interview Monday. “Many people who are solidly middle class qualify for Medicaid, and this would pull the rug out from under them as well.”

On Monday, Magaziner talked about the proposed cuts during a visit to the Wood River Health Services, a nonprofit community health center with offices in Westerly and Hope Valley. About 40% of Wood River Health’s patients are covered by Medicaid, said Alison L. Croke, the center’s president and CEO.

During the last five years, Wood River Health’s patient population has grown by nearly 50 percent, from 6,700 patients in 2019 to more than 10,000 patients last year, according to Croke.

In response to the increased demand for care, Croke said, Wood River Health has expanded its offices in Westerly, built a new facility in Hope Valley and begun offering dental care on Block Island.

And the demand is not just from Medicaid patients. Wood River Health also cares for seniors on Medicare (about 20% of its population) and people with commercial insurance coverage.

“We have folks that are landscapers, people who are bartenders, people who are barbers, hairdressers, (people who) clean houses,” Croke said, as well as “doctors and lawyers and bankers.’’

The center’s finances are already strained, she said. For the first time since she joined Wood River Health six years ago, Croke said, the center is projecting a deficit for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024.

And the projected deficit, she said, is before any of the proposed federal cuts to Medicaid.

It’s unclear which, if any, of the proposed cuts to Medicaid that Magaziner has outlined will be approved by House Republicans. But among the ideas being circulated, he said, is cutting people from the Medicaid rolls added during the expansion of the Affordable Care Act. Rhode Island was among the first states to expand its Medicaid rolls, in 2014. Many of the newly insured during the expansion were working single adults who did not have employer coverage.

Any significant cuts to Medicaid also are expected to have a ripple effect throughout the health care system, which depends on the funds to reimburse health clinics, nursing homes and hospitals, among others. Health centers, already strained by a national provider shortage and a rise in patients since the pandemic, could be forced to cut staff and services – or shut down altogether.

“The reductions that are being considered…would require the health centers to really dramatically reduce their workforce,’’ said Elena Nicolella, president of the trade group the Rhode Island Health Care Association. And cutting workers, she said, would result in more overworked clinicians leaving, longer wait times for patients to get appointments, and more delays in care resulting in more and sicker patients winding up in hospital emergency rooms.

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Rhode Island

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

Published

7 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

19 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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