| R 348 |
| 2026 -- S 3063 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 05/21/2026 |
| S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N |
| CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO MAKE A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF RHODE ISLAND'S MEDICAL MALPRACTICE IMPACT ON HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AND HEALTH CARE COSTS IN RHODE ISLAND |
Introduced By: Senators McKenney, Murray, Lawson, Ciccone, and Tikoian |
| Date Introduced: March 12, 2026 |
| WHEREAS, A 2021 Medscape survey confirms that malpractice claims are more |
| frequently made against surgical specialties, with plastic surgery, general surgery, orthopedics, |
| urology, obstetrics/gynecology making up the top five survey specialties reporting that they have |
| been named in a malpractice suit; and |
| WHEREAS, A fear of malpractice suits can also lead to defensive medicine practices, |
| which include the performance of unnecessary and costly diagnostic and non-diagnostic |
| procedures, as well as the omission of indicated, but potentially high-risk nondiagnostic |
| procedures; and |
| WHEREAS, The total costs have been estimated to contribute billions of dollars per year |
| to total healthcare expenditures in the US; and |
| WHEREAS, In a previously published 2019-2021 data from the Rhode Island Board of |
| Medical Licensure and Discipline, Rhode Island has been found to have a higher rate of |
| settlements compared to court awarded damages than other states; and |
| WHEREAS, Rhode Island must look toward finding ways to lower health care costs, and |
| protect patients, while retaining and attracting needed health care providers; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created |
| consisting of thirteen (13) members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the Rhode Island |
| Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of whom shall be a member of the |
| Rhode Island House of Representatives, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; one of |
| whom shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Medical Society, or designee; one of |
| whom shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Association for Justice, or designee; |
| one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Insurance Federation, or |
| designee; one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Hospital Association of Rhode |
| Island, or designee; two (2) of whom shall be a risk management specialist from a hospital or |
| large medical practice, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; two (2) of whom shall be |
| members of the general public, to be appointed by the President of the Senate; and one of whom |
| shall be a patient advocate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate. |
| The commission is to be charged with the following: |
| (a) The purpose of said commission shall be to make a comprehensive study of Rhode |
| Island medical malpractice lawsuits, claims, settlements, administrative filings and the related |
| impact on medical malpractice insurance costs for providers; |
| (b) To study the correlation of risk of malpractice claims on shortages of providers in |
| certain specialties and areas of Rhode Island, leading to access to care issues for residents; |
| (c) To study the impact on statewide health care costs from current malpractice insurance |
| premiums, and claims; |
| (d) To develop recommendations for solutions, including, but not limited to, legal |
| reforms, to ensure the state’s retention and attraction of providers in needed specialties; and |
| (e) To prepare a report on impacts of medical malpractice claims and insurance with |
| recommendations on ways to improve the system leading to lower health care costs while |
| protecting patients and making retaining and attracting needed health care providers a priority. |
| By September 18, 2026, upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission |
| shall be appointed and shall meet at the call of the Senate President and organize and the Senate |
| President shall appoint a chair. |
| Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment. |
| The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services. |
| All departments and agencies of the State shall furnish such advice and information, |
| documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or |
| desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution. |
| The Commission may be allotted annual budget resources to complete these functions. |
| The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is hereby authorized and directed to provide |
| suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the commission shall develop and submit its findings and |
| recommendations to the Senate no later than October 1, 2027, and said commission shall expire |
| on January 31, 2028. |
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| LC006092/SUB A |
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