Governor Gina Raimondo today announced that Rhode Island has 218 new cases of COVID-19. This brings Rhode Island’s count to 7926. RIDOH also announced 6 additional COVID-19 associated fatalities bringing the total fatalities to 239.
There are currently 266 in the hospital, 84 in the ICU, 55 on vents and 466 people have been discharged from the hospital.
• Healthcare: Yesterday the Governor signed an executive order to relax onerous regulations and eliminate barriers to care during this crisis. The order includes the following protections through May 27th:
o Medications: Insurers cannot make changes to what drugs are covered unless the changes benefit patients.
o Provider Referrals: Insurers are required to relax the referral process to allow for more time and leniency. No referrals are necessary for telehealth.
o Prior Authorization: In-patient hospital and rehabilitation, long-term care and telemedicine in-network services cannot be suspended because an individual doesn’t have prior authorization. In addition, no prior authorization is needed for testing or treatment of COVID-19.
o Behavioral Healthcare: No referrals or other benefit review approvals are required for a patient to access needed mental and behavioral health care.
• DMV: The state is now giving 90-day extensions on expirations set for May. Expiration dates in May are now extended to August. This applies to all licenses, registrations, inspections, permits, and temporary plates.
