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5/20/2025
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Senate OKs DiMario bill to cover community health worker services
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STATE HOUSE — The Senate today voted to approve legislation from Sen. Alana M. DiMario to provide stable funding for community health workers by requiring private insurance to cover their services.
“Community health workers do important work in our health care system to improve outcomes for patients, fill gaps in our continuum of care and reduce overall costs,” said Senator DiMario (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown, New Shoreham), who works as a licensed mental health counselor in private practice. “Despite these clear and proven benefits, health care networks in Rhode Island have been forced to lay off many of their community health workers over the last year because they do not have a stable funding source, instead relying on a mix of Medicaid billing and disappearing grants. Private insurance coverage is an essential first step to ensure these positions are secure and permanent fixtures in our state’s health care system.”
Senator DiMario’s bill (2025-0705) would require private insurance to cover the services provided by community health workers. Community health workers – sometimes known as “promotores de salud,” coaches, lay health advisors or peer navigators – are public health professionals who serve as links between their communities and needed health or social services.
The bill now heads to the House where Rep. Teresa A. Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South Kingstown, Narragansett) has introduced companion legislation (2025-H 6117).
“Community health workers often serve in the communities where they live and so have a deep understanding of the resources available in their communities. They are trusted, state-certified, local professionals, serving some of the most vulnerable residents in our state,” said Susan Orban, director of the Washington County Coalition for Children. “The return on investment of CHWs to the healthcare system has been proven over and over again through various studies, but their return on investment in the lives of the people they serve is immeasurable.”
While community health workers are now able to bill Medicaid for their work, most positions in Rhode Island are funded through grants from the federal government and private foundations. Allowing community health workers to bill private insurance for their work will provide a more stable funding platform as these grants expire.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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