Two companion bills filed at the Rhode Island State House would strengthen oversight and accountability for corporate actors operating within the state’s health care system, targeting private equity ownership and the corporate practice of medicine.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Linda Ujifusa (D-Dist. 11, Portsmouth, Bristol) and Rep. Kathleen Fogarty (D-Dist. 35, South Kingstown), is modeled on framework developed by the National Academy for State Health Policy and informed by research from the Center for Advancing Health Policy through Research at the Brown University School of Public Health.
The first bill (2026-S 2492, 2026-H 7720) addresses private equity ownership in health care, in which financial firms acquire or exert control over hospitals and medical practices in ways that critics say prioritize short-term financial returns over long-term patient care and workforce stability. National research has linked private equity ownership to hospital closures, reduced access to care and deteriorating working conditions for health care staff. Lawmakers point to the corporate financial decisions affecting care delivery at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center, as well as growing financial pressures facing South County Hospital, as examples of the consequences Rhode Islanders have already experienced.
The second bill (2026-S 2459, 2026-H 7721) targets the corporate practice of medicine, including arrangements in which non-clinical entities consolidate independent medical practices under centralized corporate ownership or management and influence medical decision-making without being subject to the same professional, ethical or public accountability standards as licensed health care providers.
“This legislation strengthens transparency, oversight and accountability for private corporate actors that can currently extract profits from Rhode Island health care providers with little public scrutiny, often at the expense of patients, health care workers, and community stability,” Fogarty said.
Ujifusa added that private corporate control of health care can distort clinical decision-making, force staffing and service cuts, and divert resources away from patient care. “When profit comes before patients, people get hurt and lives are put at risk,” she said.