The Department of Elderly Affairs publishes The Rhode Island Guide to Buying Medicare Supplement Insurance and Medicare Advantage Plans. This guide explains the basics of Medicare and insurance plans that work with Medicare. One of the most difficult decisions that face older people and adults with disabilities is what type of health insurance plan to join.

Community Elder Information Specialists answer questions, provide information and referrals, and offer counsel regarding the issues of growing older in Rhode Island. They help seniors understand and deal with issues such as heating and pharmacy assistance, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, transportation, food stamps, and many other programs and services. Each year, the staff answers more than 20,000 consumer inquiries.

The Office of Managed Care Regulations’ mission is to protect Rhode Island health care consumers and providers by ensuring that health plans and utilization review agencies provide quality, continuity and access related to health care services.

The Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) was established by legislation in 2004 to broaden the accountability of health insurers operating in the state of Rhode Island. Under this legislation, the office is dedicated to and sets and enforces standards for: protecting consumers; encouraging fair treatment of medical service providers; ensuring solvency of health insurers; and improving the health care system’s quality, accessibility and affordability. The OHIC has jurisdiction over commercial health insurance matters, focusing on such regulatory issues as health insurer solvency, licensure, market conduct, health insurance rates, benefit contracts and more.

The Rhode Island Healthcare Reform Commission: develops and implements action steps, timelines and assignments of lead responsibilities for all health care reform efforts; maximizes stakeholder and public engagement; ensures open dialogue with the general assembly; identifies and removes barriers to and develops incentives for critical health care; and identifies workforce capacity and training needs in the private and public sector.

The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) was created to facilitate cooperation and coordination among the five state departments that administer Rhode Island's health and social service programs: the Department of Children, Youth and Families; the Department of Elderly Affairs; the Department of Human Services; the Department of Health; and the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals. These departments provide direct services and benefits to more than 300,000 citizens while working to protect the overall health, safety and independence of all Rhode Islanders.

The Department of Health is a diverse and interactive state agency with broad-ranging public health responsibilities. As Rhode Island has no local health departments, the department coordinates public health activities across the state. All programs and services are coordinated by the individual divisions and centers. The main areas of responsibility are: community, family health and equity; health data and analysis; health information technology; and public health communication.

The Citizens Commission for the Safety & Care of the Elderly acts as a liaison between the legislature, public safety officials, the Division of Elderly Affairs, and the older population of Rhode Island in the area of crime against the elderly, fire safety, and protective service options available to the elderly.

The Rhode Island Division of Elderly Affairs provides information from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on important new federal health care initiatives on Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D).

The mission of the Chronic Sustainability Initiative (CSI) is to lead the transformation of primary care in Rhode Island. CSI brings together critical Rhode Island payers, providers, purchasers, consumers and other leaders to develop, implement, evaluate, refine and spread models to deliver, pay for and sustain high-quality comprehensive primary care. The state of Rhode Island is testing a new model for primary care delivery, the Patient-Centered Medical Home. The goal of the CSI program is to develop a sustainable model of primary care that will improve the care of chronic disease and lead to better overall health outcomes for Rhode Islanders.

THE POINT provides information, referrals, and help getting started with programs and services for seniors, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers.

The Department of Human Services works hand-in-hand with other resources in Rhode Island to offer a full continuum of services for families, adults, children, elders, individuals with disabilities and veterans.

The Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner offers additional links for assistance with Medicare.

The Long-Term Care Coordinating Council’s (LTCCC) goal is to ensure the highest degree of quality and accessibility in caring for Rhode Island’s elderly and disabled citizens. The LTCCC brings the directors of the state’s health agencies, concerned citizens, key legislators, medical professionals, and health care providers together to address the unique challenges of long-term care policy.

The Rhode Island (RI) Division of Veterans Affairs operates the RI Veterans Home, the RI Veterans Cemetery and the RI Office of Veterans Affairs. The division also assists RI veterans and their families by providing information, links to resources, and referrals to community-based support services.

The home provides quality nursing and residential care to Rhode Island war veterans. Some of the services provided include social, medical, nursing and rehabilitative services. Services are also available for the veterans’ families.

The Health Insurance Advisory Council, established under RI law 42-14, obtains information and presents concerns of consumers, business and medical providers affected by health insurance decisions to the health insurance commissioner.

Ocean State Action is a community/labor coalition that fights to advance progressive social change on issues of economic justice, consumer protection, and human and civil rights for all individuals. It supports high-quality, affordable health care for all Rhode Islanders.

Established in the fall of 2006, HealthRIght is a statewide group that convenes key stakeholders to organize for the passage and implementation of comprehensive health care reform that will control costs, improve quality of care and health outcomes, and expand health coverage to all Rhode Islanders.

The Rhode Island Quality Institute is a nonprofit collaboration of leaders in the Rhode Island community including CEOs of hospitals, health insurers, and businesses, along with leaders of consumer groups, academia and government. This group is determined to significantly improve the health care system in the state by building on the availability and advantages of health information technology.

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that advocates for people ages 50 and older. Since 1958, AARP has lobbied for senior issues, including the passage of Medicare in 1965. AARP offers support from staffed offices in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is a national program that offers counseling and assistance to people with Medicare and to their families. Coordinators provide counseling on Medicare benefits, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), Social Security, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. SHIP, formerly the Information, Counseling and Assistance (ICA) grants program, was created under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. This act authorized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make grants to states for health advisory services programs for people with Medicare.

The long-term care ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The office resolves complaints and educates seniors and long-term care providers about their rights and good care practices. The ombudsman also provides information to the public on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and services, residents' rights, and legislative and policy issues. In 1978, an amendment to the federal Older Americans Act required every state to have an ombudsman program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long-term care system. The ombudsman program is administered federally by the Administration on Aging (AoA). In Rhode Island, the ombudsman is organized through the independent Alliance for Better Long-Term Care.

The Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) Comprehensive Services Amendments in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans 60 and older in every local community. The amendments added a new Title V, which authorized grants to local community agencies in every state. The AAAs provide a range of options that allow older adults to choose the home- and community-based services and living arrangements that suit them best. Rhode Island has only one Area Agency on Aging, based at the Division on Elderly Services in Cranston. A senior service center is also operated by the Narragansett tribe in Washington County for members.

Healthcentric Advisors was formed in 1995 to procure the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) contract for the state of Rhode Island. During the past 15 years, it has leveraged its Rhode Island QIO experience, growing its expertise and corporate experience in all health care settings. QIOs are private, mostly not-for-profit organizations, staffed by doctors and other health care professionals, who are trained to review medical care, to help beneficiaries with complaints about the quality of care, and to implement improvements in the quality of care available throughout the spectrum of care. QIOs are required under Sections 1152-1154 of the Social Security Act.

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program helps Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect and prevent health care fraud. The goal is to protect older people and to preserve the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal program was created in 1996 by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and amended in 2006 by Titles II and IV of the Older Americans Act.

Timothy Babineau is the president and CEO of Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. Previously, he served as senior vice president and medical officer for the University of Maryland Medical Center and School of Medicine in Baltimore. Babineau holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross and a medical degree from the University of Massachusetts. He is also the editor of the “Journal of Surgical Innovation and Research.”

Timothy Babineau is the president and CEO of Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. Previously, he served as senior vice president and medical officer for the University of Maryland Medical Center and School of Medicine in Baltimore. Babineau holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross and a medical degree from the University of Massachusetts. He is also the editor of the “Journal of Surgical Innovation and Research.”

Martin E. Tursky was named president and CEO of Memorial Hospital in October 2011, after serving as its executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2010. Previously, he served as vice president and chief information officer at Aultman Hospital in Canton, Ohio. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Management from the US Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Ohio State University.

The House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare is a standing committee of the state legislature and addresses bills relating to health care, regulation and social services provided within the state.

The Joint Committee on Healthcare Oversight (originally created in 2000, active through 2005, and reactivated in February 2011) monitors, studies, reports and makes recommendations on: all areas of health care provision, insurance, liability, licensing, cost and delivery of services; and the adequacy, efficacy and efficiency of statutes, rules, regulations, guidelines, practices, and programs related to health care, long-term care or health insurance coverage. Its previous accomplishments include the creation of the one-of-a-kind state Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner, reforming the quality and regulation of long-term care and creating mechanisms to make health insurance more affordable. The joint committee works closely with the governor’s administration on important health care issues in the state.

The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services is a standing committee of the state legislature that addresses bills relating to health care, regulation and social services provided within the state.