Rhode Island’s governor announced Friday that a state health care system was targeted in a cyberattack that may have resulted in personal information being stolen.

RIBridges, part of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, is described by the agency as “a state-of-the-art eligibility system” used to determine if residents are eligible for state programs and Medicaid, and to connect them with other health care options.

Gov. Dan McKee’s office said Friday that RIBridges’ computer system was hit with a breach.

“On December 13, 2024, the State was informed by its vendor, Deloitte, that there was a major security threat to the RIBridges system,” the state said in a statement. “In response, we have proactively taken the system offline so that the State and Deloitte can work to address the threat and restore the system as quickly as possible. Additionally, Deloitte confirmed that there is a high probability that a cybercriminal has obtained files with personally identifiable information from RIBridges.”

The state noted that RIBridges manages Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), Rhode Island Works (RIW), Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS), General Public Assistance Program (GPA), and health coverage purchased through HealthSource RI.

NBC affiliate WJAR reports that the system, previously called UHIP, was launched in 2016 under former Gov. Gina Raimondo and had a rocky rollout, resulting in a major backlog.

Rhode Island officials say people whose information may have been compromised will receive letters in the mail instructing them how to access free credit monitoring. They added that a dedicated call center would be available beginning Sunday, but they have not yet released a phone number.

More information is available here.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announces the permanent conservation of 38.27 acres of Atlantic White Cedar forest in Tiverton. The protected land, part of the Pocasset Cedar Swamp off Bears Den Road, represents a globally imperiled forest species under threat from sea level rise.

The conservation effort is a partnership between DEM, the Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust, and Bally’s Corporation. The land holds significant cultural and sacred value for the Pocasset Wampanoket Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation, the ancestral people of the greater Tiverton and Fall River area.

“This land is significant as the ancestral heartbeat of the Pocasset Pokanoket people,” said Chief George Spring Buffalo, Chairman of the Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation. “This is the site of King Phillip’s War, one of the most devastating conflicts to native people in American history. We will create trails, explore the lands, and discover what our ancestors left us there. DEM was an honest partner through this process, and we’re looking forward to more collaborations with them.”

The Pocasset Cedar Swamp was the site of The Battle of Pocasset Swamp during King Phillip’s War, where both Sachem Weetamoo and King Phillip (Chief Metacomet) fought.

Atlantic White Cedar forests have faced extensive commercial harvesting, now comprising only a small percentage of forest cover in the region. Over the past century, these forests along the Atlantic seaboard have been considerably degraded and reduced.

“We are excited to be working in partnership with the Pocasset Pokanoket Tribe and believe firmly in this project and the public benefit of protecting the Pocasset Cedar Swamp,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “Rhode Islanders are proud to be a diverse people, with diverse cultures and we celebrate our tribal communities.”

The purchase price for the nearly 40-acre property is $60,000. A $40,000 grant committed in 2022 through DEM’s competitive Local Open Space Grant Program plays a crucial role in financing the project. Funds for this program come from voter-approved Green Economy Bonds.

The Local Open Space Grant Program has protected nearly 1,700 acres statewide over the past five years. Almost every town in Rhode Island has received funding through the program, with over 200 grants administered since 1990, thanks to voter-approved bond measures.

This conservation effort aligns with broader initiatives to protect endangered habitats and support tribal rematriation efforts. The Atlantic White Cedar forest’s preservation not only safeguards a rare ecosystem but also returns culturally significant land to its ancestral stewards.

The Pocasset Cedar Swamp project demonstrates the potential for collaboration between state agencies, tribal nations, and private corporations in land conservation efforts. It sets a precedent for future initiatives that combine ecological preservation with cultural heritage protection.

For more information on DEM programs and initiatives, interested parties can visit www.dem.ri.gov or follow the department on various social media platforms.

A partnership between Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Brown University’s School of Public Health, the RI Life Index measures the “lived realities” of Rhode Islanders

PROVIDENCE – If you ask Rhode Islanders what they think about the state of the economy, employment, food security, health care and housing, a few trends begin to emerge.

For example, positive perceptions about the affordability of housing, cost of living and employment have gone down – in some instances sharply – in recent years. Yet Latino and Black residents feel better about their access to health care, while white residents feel about the same as they did a year ago.

Perceptions on food security are more complicated. Overall, white Rhode Islanders feel relatively good about it, but Latino and Black residents, especially in cities with high percentages of child poverty, have a much stronger negative perception on food security. Among Latino residents over 55 years old, the negative perception is even stronger.

These are some of the findings from the RI Life Index, an annual survey that measures the “lived realities” of residents in the Ocean State (the measures are also known as social determinants of health). The index, released on Wednesday, is a partnership between Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Brown University’s School of Public Health. Nearly 2,000 Rhode Islanders participated in this year’s survey.

Overall, the index’s score was 57 on a scale of 0 to 100, a point below last year (higher scores indicate more positive perceptions). Some scores, such as the cost of living (21) and affordable housing (31), have been steadily declining since 2020. While others, such as access to health care (68), seem to be rebounding after a dip.

Food insecurity a rising concern

Of particular salience to this year’s index was access to nutritious food (64), which was down two points from last year and nine points since 2021. The areas with the lowest scores for food insecurity were Central Falls, Block Island and Woonsocket.

Melissa Clark, a professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health and the principal investigator for the index, noted that one out of five households is making trade-offs between paying for food or something else.

The index’s results buttress the findings of a recent report from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which found that nearly two out of five households in the state struggle to afford food. This has led to a record demand at food banks in the state.

A panel discussion followed the launch of the index at South Street Landing, an office and academic building for Brown University. It featured Andrew Schiff, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, along with Kathleen Gorman, professor of psychology and director of the Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America at the University of Rhode Island; Teddi Jallow, executive director of the Refugee Dream Center; and Alison Tovar, an associate professor and interim director of the Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity at the Brown University School of Public Health.

The panel highlighted the challenges many families face in accessing quality food. Jallow noted, for example, that refugees only get a $1,350 stipend from the government to secure an apartment, get health care and afford food – a paltry sum given the cost of rent and other services in the state. The panel also noted that lawful permanent residents – also known as green card holders – have to wait five years before they can qualify for SNAP benefits. For 20% of respondents, transportation was a barrier to accessing food.

Many of the problems with food insecurity are inextricably tied to other issues such as housing and health care, the panelists said.

“No one is ever just hungry,” Schiff said. “The people who experience food insecurity are also having difficulty affording most of their other bills.”

Policy recommendations were also discussed, such as implementing a program to bridge people out of SNAP benefits, but overall systemic change is needed to address food insecurity in Rhode Island, according to the panelists.

“We don’t have a system in place where we are making it easy for people to get help,” Gorman said.