R.I. lawmakers pass federal health care law compliance bill

Rhode Island and Connecticut moved forward on implementing the health law: Lawmakers in Providence approved legislation to bring state health insurance laws in line with the federal health care law. In Connecticut, the health insurance exchange board added a member.

Providence Journal: R.I. House Approves Legislation Bringing State In Line With Federal Health Care Overhaul
Over the strong objections of Republicans, the Rhode Island House of Representatives approved legislation Monday to bring the state's health insurance laws in compliance with President Obama's federal health care law.  House Republicans, by far the minority in the 75-member chamber, called on lawmakers to reject the proposal, as the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering the constitutionality of certain key provisions on the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Marcelo, 6/11).

CT Mirror:  Panel Implementing Health Reform To Add A Voting Member
The composition of the board charged with implementing a key part of health reform -- creating a marketplace for individuals and small businesses to buy health care coverage -- is likely to change by a change in the status of the state's health care advocate. Victoria Veltri, now an ex officio board member, would become a voting member of the board (Thomas, 6/12).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.