New Laws Benefiting Older Rhode Islanders from this Legislative Session

Published in RINewsToday on July 20, 2026

A new group of bills, signed by Gov. Dan McKee, delivers notable benefits for older Rhode Islanders. The new laws focus on three main goals: boosting financial security, expanding healthcare access, and cracking down on fraud and scams targeting seniors.

Rhode Island General Assembly leadership convened this year’s legislative session on Jan. 6 that ran until June 11, with lawmakers working right up until 11:59 a.m. on their final day. Over those five months, the Senate logged 43 days on the floor, while the House logged 45.

In a joint statement, Senate President Valarie J. Lawson (D-Dist.14, East Providence) and House Speaker Christopher R. Blazejewski (D-Dist. 2, Providence) pointed out one of the session’s most significant legislative accomplishments – eliminating the state income tax on Social Security benefits for all low- and moderate-income Rhode Islanders who receive them, regardless of their age.

“We also strengthened protections against scams and financial exploitation, advanced consumer protections, and passed legislation to improve access to affordable, high-quality health care,” they said, stressing that more work remains.

“As we continue to prepare for the impacts of federal funding cuts to vital state programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), we must remain vigilant in protecting the services that many older Rhode Islanders depend on,” they added. “We remain committed to working with our partners to address the many challenges facing older Rhode Islanders and to advancing policies that protect their financial security, support healthy aging, and enhance the quality of life for every senior in our state.”

A Strong Year for Aging Issues

More than 2,450 bills were introduced during the 2026 legislative session – 1,157 in the Senate and 1,297 in the House. Excluding resolutions, which were largely congratulatory in nature or recognized prominent Rhode Island residents, only 249 measures ultimately cleared both chambers to reach the Governor’s desk for signature.

Among the most important actions affecting Rhode Islanders was the adoption of the state’s $15.2 billion Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The new spending plan includes a number of provisions benefiting older adults, caregivers, and aging-service providers. It eliminates age thresholds to exempt Social Security income from state taxes, increases Medicaid reimbursement rates for dementia care and other providers, and boosts funding for Meals on Wheels and senior centers.

But the enacted budget was only part of this year’s legislative story. Lawmakers also approved a number of bills that Gov. Dan McKee signed into law, addressing health care, consumer protection, retirement security, and services that help older Rhode Islanders remain independent in their homes and communities.

Among the new laws signed by Gov. McKee are the following:

The General Assembly approved legislation (S 3282, H 8595) sponsored by Senate President Lawson and Rep. Michelle McGaw (D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton) to ensure that Medicare patients over 65 years old are eligible for all Medicare supplemental coverage programs, regardless of preexisting conditions. Under the new law, every Medicare recipient over 65 will have at least one month each calendar year to enroll in any Medigap plan without undergoing medical underwriting. That means older adults cannot be denied coverage – or charged higher premiums because of preexisting conditions if they switch plans during that enrollment period.

Rep. Jennifer Boylan (D-Dist. 66, Barrington, East Providence) and Sen. Lori Urso (D-Dist. 8, Pawtucket) sponsored successful legislation (H 7029A, S 2116A) to help homebound patients access routine foot care at home. The new law allows routine foot care in patients’ homes, provided the provider has received proper training and demonstrates clinical competence. The new measure addresses unmet needs for basic, routine, and preventive foot care at home. Many older adults and people with disabilities need medical assistance for routine foot care, including noninvasive maintenance of toenails, common corns, and calluses.

Legislation (S 2026, H 8171A) from Sen. Victoria Gu (D-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown) and Rep. Justine Caldwell (D-Dist. 30, East Greenwich, West Greenwich), now law, creates a Medicaid pilot program that leverages medically tailored meals and other nutritional supports to improve the health of those with chronic, diet-related conditions. This coverage could take the form of produce prescriptions, vouchers, or medically tailored meals, prescribed by medical professionals for persons with diet-related diseases or food insecurity. It could also include clinical nutrition education.

Legislation (H 8060A, S 3338) introduced by Rep. Joseph J. Solomon, Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Warwick) and Sen. Matthew L. LaMountain (D-Dist. 31, Warwick, Cranston), now enacted, strengthens the state’s laws to fight identity fraud and emerging forms of digital deception. The act defines “digital forgery” as participating in the generation, creation, or distribution of a computer-generated visual or audio representation intended to deceive people.

Gov. McKee signed legislation (H 7613A, S 2810A) sponsored by Rep. Alex D. Marszalkowski (D-Dist. 52, Cumberland) and Sen. Lammis Vargas (D-Dist. 28, Cranston, Providence) that would protect tax filers from fraudulent or illegal tax preparation services. This new law imposes penalties on tax preparers who intentionally mislead their clients or act as ghost preparers for tax returns. It would also require the tax administrator to publish a list of tax preparers whose privileges to prepare returns have been revoked or suspended.

The Act (H 7551aa, S 2715A) introduced by House Speaker Pro Tempore Brian Patrick Kennedy (D-Dist. 38, Hopkinton, Westerly) and Senate President Lawson would criminalize deed theft. Additionally, it would allow municipalities to refuse to record “suspicious documents” submitted by untrusted submitters. Deed theft usually involves forged documents, such as a quit-claim deed, to record a phony transfer of property ownership. Scammers may then attempt to sell the stolen vacant land or home, or even rent it, to turn a profit, forcing the real owners to head to court to reclaim their property.

The enacted measure (H 7837, S 2878) sponsored by Rep. Caldwell and Senate President Pro Tempore Hanna M. Gallo (D-Dist. 27, Cranston, West Warwick) would improve the oral health of homebound older Rhode Islanders by expanding reimbursement eligibility for public health dental hygienists. Currently, dental hygienists’ services are reimbursable only through Medicaid and insurance plans purchased through HealthSource RI. The new law allows public health dental hygienists to be paid directly by Medicare and other insurers for services provided in the home to older adults who lack transportation or mobility to visit a dentist.

This enacted legislation (H 7475, S 3086), sponsored by Rep. Evan P. Shanley (D-Dist. 24, Warwick, East Greenwich) and Sen. Meghan E. Kallman (D-Dist. 15, Pawtucket, Providence), enacts technical amendments to the Rhode Island Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program Act. These structural modifications, which improve daily operations enable the retirement board to enhance the program’s efficiency and reach and strengthen interstate partnerships. Secure Choice, which offers employees of small businesses access to a portable, Roth-IRA-type retirement accounts through automatic payroll deduction, was enacted last year.

We’ll Be Back

According to Carol Costa, Executive Director of the Senior Agenda Coalition of RI (SACRI), this year’s General Assembly approved several important measures supporting aging in place, including bills on foot care and dental hygienists. She also believes the Food as Medicine legislation will have a tremendous impact on homebound older Rhode Islanders.

Costa noted that consumer protection bills which were signed into law are also laudable, including the enacted bill (H 8106, S 2644), that was introduced by Rep. Stephen M. Casey (D-Dist. 50, Woonsocket) and Sens. Melissa Murray (D-Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield) and Brian J. Thompson (D-Dist. 20, Woonsocket, Cumberland) restricting deed covenants on grocery stores addressing anti-competitive deed restrictions. The bills were originally created and pushed forward at the request of Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos as part of her “Fair Price Grocery Agenda”.

SACRI applauds the enactment of legislation (H 7020, S 3180) sponsored by Rep. Jon D. Brien (I-Dist. 49, Woonsocket, North Smithfield) and Sen. Thompson that establishes the framework for veterinary telemedicine in Rhode Island. “It is a good law to help homebound older Rhode Islanders to take better care of their pets,” Costa says. The new law requires Rhode Island-licensed veterinarians to obtain client consent before establishing an electronic relationship and to keep records for one year. Providers must clearly display services and standard fees on their websites.

Workforce development also got a boost this year with passage of the Healthcare Worker Platform Act (H 7030B, S 2107A), says Costa. Sponsored by Rep. Shanley and Sen. Jacob E. Bissaillon (D-Dist. 1, Providence), the new law creates a digital platform that connects qualified healthcare workers with open shifts at healthcare facilities. The platform allows licensed healthcare professionals to identify and accept available shifts, helping healthcare providers fill staffing gaps more quickly and efficiently. “Creating a workforce platform is a positive step that enables quicker access to long-term care staffing,” says Costa.

“SACRI will be supporting bills that did not get over the finish line this session by pushing them on day one,” says Costa, noting that in the next session, the coalition will push for the passage of the removal of the MSP Asset test, the creation of the Office of the Elder Advocate, and making the Rep. Lauren H. Carson’s (D-Dist. 75, Newport) House Study Commission on Aging or House Commission Studying Services and Programs for Older Adults a permanent commission.

“SACRI is reflecting on a year of dedicated advocacy while turning its focus to the work ahead,” explains Costa. “While some major legislative priorities did not make it across the finish line this year, we remain committed to dismantling barriers for Rhode Island’s older adults and individuals with disabilities,” she says.

“While SACRI didn’t secure 100% of all we fought for this past session, our resolve is stronger than ever to push for passage in the General Assembly,” says Costa, stressing that the legislation is vital to the economic security and protection of our older adults. “SACRI will be there to advocate forcefully until they become law,” she said.

For more information about the states’ Fiscal Year 2027 budget, see my article in RI News Today. Go to https://rinewstoday.com/ri-budget-win-for-older-adults-by-herb-weiss.

Read about AARP Rhode Island’s advocacy on bills that were signed into law this legislative session. Go to

https://www.aarp.org/states/rhode-island/rhode-island-2026-legislative-win

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Strengthening the Safety Net for Seniors Living in Poverty

Published in RINewsToday on July 15, 2023

A recently released U.S. Census Bureau report should send a message to Congress and spur the efforts of aging advocates to protect older Americans from financial hardship and poverty. Some consider the “golden years” to be age 60, or 65, and over. But it’s not so golden for millions of retirees.

According to a recently released U.S. Census Bureau’s report, “Profile of Older Adults by Poverty Status: 2021,” 8.3% of the nation’s population age 65 and over are living in poverty.

The Census Report, released on June 25, 2024, uses data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), to draw a profile of the 4.7 million older adults who lived in poverty in 2021. This longitudinal survey provides comprehensive information on the dynamics of income, employment, household composition and government program participation.

Poverty in your later years

Here are a few data nuggets from the latest Census Report’s findings…

According to the report, two-thirds of older adults living in poverty in 2021 were women. Limited time in the workforce, raising children or serving as a caregiver, have decreased Social Security benefits, leading to income insecurity in their later years. Older adults living below the poverty line were more likely than those “non-poor” to have never married, says the report, noting that this limits the chance of these individuals to accumulate financial resources with a spouse or to obtain financial incentives (such as tax benefits) associated with being married.

And yes, living alone can be hazardous to your pocketbook, notes the Census report. In 2021, most older adults in poverty (62.9%) lived alone, compared to only 26.3% of those not in poverty.

In addition, among older adults in poverty who lived with at least one other person, 65.5% lived with a spouse, 29.9% lived with a child and 11.2 percent lived with a grandchild, noted the report’s findings.

A snapshot of poverty in Rhode Island

According to Maureen Maigret, Policy Advisor for the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island,” the Census Bureau released a “significant and must-read report.”

“The data shows that almost five million older adults across the nation are living in poverty, and details how gender and social characteristics contribute to poverty status and wealth,” says Maigret. “Two-thirds of the nation’s older adults living in poverty are women, which is like the poverty profile of older adults in Rhode Island, as are the higher rates of poverty for older persons of color.

Maigret noted that a comprehensive 2014 report on RI Older Women she researched for The Women’s Fund of RI documented the high poverty rate of older women in the state – 9.7% for men and 11.3% for women. The Women’s Fund report also found about 20% of older RI adults living in poverty were more likely to be Hispanic or non-Hispanic Black.

“Unfortunately, things have not improved,” she says, noting that the poverty rate for older Rhode Islanders has increased to 12.3% (US Census ACS 2022 estimates) which is higher than the 10.9% national poverty rate for older adults.

“Providing data on the poverty status of older adults is important for our state policymakers. It is also critical for them to understand the notable gender differences as women outnumber men in the state’s older population (56% vs 44%), have greater healthcare expenses, are more likely to live alone and need long term supports,” states the former Director of the state’s Department of Elderly Affairs (DEA), now referred to as the Office of Healthy Aging. Older RI women also have lower Social Security benefits than men (about $5,000 less) and 37% less pension benefits, she says.

Maigret notes that most older Rhode Islanders are not wealthy with many falling into what is termed the “forgotten middle.” A specifically, term used to describe those individuals with income not low-income enough to be on Medicaid but not enough to meet basic needs–estimated at $30,000/year for a single renter in good health (Elder Index).

Twenty-seven percent of our older households have income below $25,000 (US Census) which is not sufficient to meet basic needs. This is why we must both improve some of the programs that can help them financially and better inform them of available benefits, she says.

Tackling poverty in the Ocean State

According to Susan Sweet, founder of the Rhode Island Minority Elder Task Force (RIMETF) (riminorityeldertaskforce@gmail.com), a 501 © (3) nonprofit, established in 1992 after a survey found that elders from minority groups were not being serviced by aging network providers, “The survey revealed that Senior Centers, Adult Day Centers, and other state and local programs had almost no staff who were able to communicate with clients who had limited or no English language skills, and paid no attention to cultural differences in different populations,” she noted.

“While there has definitely been some improvement, most older Rhode Islanders of different cultures and/or languages must seek assistance from the few programs that are specifically directed to them,” says Sweet, a former state associate director of DEA, and advocate for seniors facing hardships and low-income difficulties.

“But they are not the majority of those who barely survive because of a lack of funds and support. Coming from all backgrounds, many poor elders are struggling to meet basic needs such as shelter, food, medicine, medical care, utilities and other necessities”, says Sweet.

“Older adult needs appear to be much worse than they were in the early 2000s. Inflation, Covid, lack of adequate housing options, as well as difficulty in accessing existing assistance programs are pushing these individuals to an existence that threatens their health and their life,” warns Sweet.

State programs that exist for the purpose of helping poor, older adults often have long application periods and stringent rules that create very little ability to respond to emergency situations,” according to Sweet.

Sweet says that RIMETF’s most extensive work is in direct assistance to poor elders for basic needs. “We provide mini-grants , generally in the range of $200 – $400, to low-income elders in dire circumstances by paying directly to providers of goods and services such as rental entities, utilities, fuel companies and gift cards for items such as food, clothing, medicine, and household goods. “Our members also assist to get people on payment plans, programs, services, and better situations that may prevent future emergencies and enable longer-term solutions,” she says.

RIMETF has no paid staff and its Board membership consists of a diverse group of health and social work representatives, program administrators, community members, Senior Center and Community Action staff members, housing specialists, and advocates from other aging programs. The older adults who need help are identified by the group’s membership and demographic information and records are kept by the organization.

The nonprofit group is funded by private foundations such as Nursing Placement Foundation, Rhode Island Foundation, Tufts, Harriet Boucher Foundation, Dexter Fund as well as municipalities including the Cities of Providence, East Providence and Pawtucket.

Both Maigret and Sweet call for more to be done by the Rhode Island lawmakers next session to strengthen the safety net for struggling older Rhode Islander’s to protect them from poverty.

“Yes, absolutely more work needs to be done,” says Maigret. ”Data from the national profile and corresponding state data provide strong evidence of the need to continue advocacy to fight for policies to ensure Rhode Islanders enjoy economic security in their older years.”

“Policies are a necessary part of the work, but oversight and quality control of state and private programs and services is vital to ensure that actual help is available in a timely manner; currently, oversight is lacking,” says Sweet, calling for state programs and policies to be better monitored and evaluated by those who deal with poor older adults and know the hardships suffered by them.

“The reality of increasing poverty among elders requires a grass roots understanding of the lack of support actually available to meet their needs,” says Sweet.

To get a copy of the Census Bureau’s report, “Profile of Older Adults by Poverty Status: 2021,” go to https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p70-193.pdf

To read “Older Women in Rhode Island: A Portrait, Woman’s Fund Rhode Island 2014,” go to https://wfri.org/assets/older-woman-rhode-island.pdf

Benefits for seniors from Rhode Island’s next budget

Published in RINewsToday on June 17, 2024

With a 35-2 vote in the Senate early on Friday the Senate gave its approval for a $13.963 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year, comprising 13 articles that direct additional funding toward education and children, raises Medicaid reimbursement rates, health care support, and includes a $120 million affordable housing bond. The 300-page budget bill – read here, 2024-H 7225Aaa has now gone to Gov. Dan McKee, who is scheduled to sign it at an event Monday, June 17, at 11:15 a.m. in the State Room on the second floor of the State House.

Rhode Island’s FY 2025 Budget and Seniors

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick) reeled off specifics as to how this year’s budget proposal impacts senior programs and services, noting that it aims to lower the rising housing and health care costs that impact the quality of life of older Rhode Islanders. “We have asked the voters to approve an additional $120 million in funds to increase affordable housing production. The budget accelerates a commitment to raising Medicaid reimbursement rates for services to care for our most vulnerable seniors and people living with disabilities to stabilize our health care and human service provider networks,” noted Shekarchi.

Under the budget proposal tax relief is provided to seniors who rely on retirement income, raising the exemption to $50,000 for qualified single filers and $100,000 for joint filers. It also repeals the suspension of annual cost of living (COLA) adjustments for retirees in the state pension system who retired before 2012 and moves up the timeline for resumption of COLA for other state retirees.

Lawmakers changed the calculation for pension benefits to base it on the highest three consecutive years of earning instead of five. Finally, the House Speaker noted that this budget fully funds Medicaid rate increases for home care and other services that help seniors age with dignity in the community and stay in their homes if they so desire, and also increases support for services provided in nursing or assisted living settings.

Adds Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio(D-Dist. 4, North Providence, Providence), “I am pleased that the budget will invest in many Senate priorities, particularly in the areas of health care, child care, education and providing some needed relief to retirees,” says Ruggerio. “Specifically, the budget incorporates $2.7 million for primary care provider training sites, as well as $500,000 for tuition assistance for students who enter the primary care field and remain in Rhode Island. The budget also includes funding for purchasing medical debt for pennies on the dollar,” he says.

But how does the aging network view this spending plan?

According to Maureen Maigret, Policy Advisor with the Senior Agenda Coalition of RI (SACRI), under the spending plan approved by the Assembly $103.2 Million in all funds was added to the Governor’s proposed budget to fully fund the social and human service provider rate increases as recommended by the state’s Office Health of Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) based on the comprehensive legislatively mandated Rate Review Study performed in 2023. According to Maigret, who served as a member of the Advisory Task Force for the Rate Study, the full funding was especially important for those older adults and persons with disabilities seeking access to home and community services.

“Too many persons on Medicaid have been waiting three months or longer to access needed home care supports which can cause health to deteriorate or to consider nursing home placement at far more expense to the state,” Maigret said. Maigret noted the increases would raise rates for providers of home care, assisted living, shared living and adult day services – all critical to helping persons with support needs to be able to stay at home where most persons with care needs prefer to live.

Senior Agenda Coalition has worked for many years to promote better access to home and community-based services and to advocate for better wages for the direct care workers who provide this care,” she added, noting that these individuals are usually women, mostly women of color, and for too long have been undervalued and underpaid she noted. In 2022 the SACRI advocated with the legislature to set a minimum wage of at least $17/hour; however, the budget only called for a minimum of $15/hour. With full funding for the recommended home and community care provider rates, we would like to see these essential workers get a minimum starting wage of at least $25/hour in order to recruit and retain the necessary workers.

SACRI also successfully pushed along with other housing advocates for the addition of $20 Million more to the Housing Bond to go on the November ballot for a total of $120 Million, Maigret added, noting that the coalition continues to advocate for paying adequate attention to the housing needs of older adults in the allocation of the bond funds. “Increasing affordable housing options for this population is critical,” says Maigret, stressing that census data shows that 53% of older RI renters pay more than 30% of their income on housing and studies show that 43% of extremely low-income RI renters are seniors. In the housing space, passage of bills to streamline development of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) advanced by House Speaker Shekarchi along with most of his housing package was also a major win for expanding housing options and development.

The legislature also addressed SACRI and its advocacy partners push to increase income eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program (MSP) that helps lower-income Medicare enrollees not on Medicaid afford needed healthcare and save dollars for other needed basic needs by covering Part B premiums ($176/month in 2024) as well as required co-payments for some with very low-incomes. “The budget includes a provision requiring the state to seek federal approval to increase the eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program for “qualified individuals” (currently persons with annual income between $18,312 and $20,331) up to 185% of the federal poverty level ($27,861),” says Maigret, adding that the Coalition plans to monitor the approval process and to seek additional legislation, if needed, next Legislative session to further expand the program. Maigret says that lawmakers expanded the Temporary Caregiver Insurance Program up to 8 weeks but SACRI was disappointed that siblings and grandchildren were not added to the list of persons for whom a worker could get paid leave.

“We will continue to advocate for these additions and to increase the number of weeks of leave up to 12 which is provided by most states that have such a program,” she says. And finally, SACRI will continue to advocate for additional funding for the Office of Healthy Aging to provide each of our communities with at least $10/per person age 65 and over to help support local senior centers and programs for older adults, says Maigret, as well as increasing the income cap to $50,000 for eligibility for the state Property Tax Relief Program (called the Circuit Breaker program) that provides a tax credit or refund for older homeowners and renters and those on Social Security Disability.

FY 2025 Budget Helps State’s Nursing Homes

James Nyberg, Executive Director of LeadingAgeRI is pleased with the infusion of much-needed funds in the FY 2025 Budget to help support financially-distressed nursing homes as they continue to provide quality care in a very difficult environment. “The providers are clearly in distress and we need to avoid any further closures to ensure access to care, resident choice and well-being, and support for the workforce,” he says. “We also are grateful that the OHIC-recommended rate increases for various programs, including assisted living and adult day services, were expedited with full implementation this October. Assisted living providers are scheduled for a 10.8% rate increase and adult day a 19.8% increase. This will help support our home and community-based providers and those for whom they care, says Nyberg, who serves on the Advisory Task Force for the Rate Study. Lastly,

LeadingAgeRI supports the FY 25 Budget’s increase in the housing bond to $120 million, and calls for a portion of it to be used to expand safe and affordable senior housing, the lack of which is well-documented, including a recent report by the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council. According to Nyberg, one legislative priority that remains is to establish a Medicaid rate add-on for private rooms in nursing homes, since Medicaid is the primary payer for nursing home care. “This would be an important step in helping to support a more homelike environment and resident privacy and dignity,” he says.

“RI nursing homes have been chronically underfunded since the implementation of the reimbursement methodology over thirteen (13) years ago,” charges John E. Gage, President & CEO of the Rhode Island Health Care Association, representing 62 nursing home providers. “Cuts to the annual inflation index, failure to re-base rates every three years since, and skyrocketing costs since the beginning of the pandemic have put RI nursing facilities at significant financial risk,” he says.

“The FY ’25 Budget passed the Rhode Island General Assembly includes funding for the first-ever rebase of Medicaid Rates since the inception of the Priced Based Reimbursement System back in 2013,” says Gage, noting that this increase represents a 14.5% increase with an estimated increase in revenue of $66 million beginning October 1, 2024, based on actual expenses from the most recent Medicaid Cost Reports from 2022.

Additionally, Gage says that the budget as passed includes $10 million in State Fiscal Recovery Fund Grants to stabilize RI’s nursing facilities from July 1, 2024, through the implementation of the new rates on October 1.

Pension changes initiated

“Our primary task during this past General Assembly session has been to strongly support Bill H-8193, introduced by Rep. Pat Serpa, which would see the return of the COLA which was so ruthlessly slashed away in 2011. It applied to all current and future retirees, including teachers, state workers, and some municipal employees, says Sandra Paquette, representing Advocates for COLA Restoration and Pension Reform, a non-profit representing 4,700 retirees.

However, the actual pension provision in this year’s budget provides for the restoring of a compounded COLA to those who retired prior to July 1, 2012, notes Paquette. “Initially, this was a disappointment to our organization, as we had hoped for much needed relief for all who have been so detrimentally affected by Rhode Island Retirement Security Act — creating a financial crisis in the lives of so many lifetime workers. But further thought and consideration caused us to realize that the pension benefits in this year’s budget represent a huge step in a 13 year’s duration of no progress whatsoever in alleviating the injustice, she adds.

“And we are delighted that after so many years, older persons in the state retirement system who retired prior to 2012 will finally see a COLA,” says Maigret, “This is especially important for those who do not receive Social Security benefits.”

Editor’s Note: Added comments

Union thoughts…

Jesse Martin, Executive Vice President of SEIU 1199 NE and President of Rhode Island SEIU State Council said, “For months, union members of Rhode Island SEIU State Council have been working to raise awareness of issues that matter most to working Rhode Island families and, as a result, made great strides in healthcare, wages, funding, retirement, career training and more to the benefit of all. This year’s budget contains emergency funding to keep Linn Health open until August, provides funding to paraprofessional healthcare workers to help them advance in their careers, streamlines the hiring process at DHS and DCYF in order to attract new qualified candidates and finally enables domestic workers to earn the minimum wage. We thank all our elected leaders who offered their steadfast support and prioritized the needs of working Rhode Islanders.”

The Rhode Island SEIU State Council, which is representative of all four SEIU affiliate locals, represents a variety of workers across the state, including healthcare, Department of Children and Families, Janitorial, Family Child Care, Department of Labor and Training, Security, Workforce Development and more. Nationwide, the Service Employees International Union represents over two million members.

Kathleen Gerard, Advocates for Better Care in Rhode Island, added, “”We were very glad to see the passage of the full Medicaid reimbursement increases recommended by the OHIC this session, and will continue to advocate for measures that ensure that our public funds are put towards the public good of improved wages for direct care staff and improved care for residents.”