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H 7537Health Insurance

Insurance - Accident and Sickness Insurance Policies

This bill requires health insurers to cover FDA-approved scalp cooling devices to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 6, 2026Committee House Health & Human Services

Plain-English Summary

This legislation mandates that health insurance companies in Rhode Island provide coverage for scalp cooling systems for patients diagnosed with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy. Scalp cooling systems are FDA-approved devices used to prevent or reduce hair loss associated with chemotherapy. The requirement applies to individual and group health insurance policies, nonprofit hospital service corporations, and health maintenance organizations issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027. The bill specifically lists several types of limited-benefit insurance policies, such as accident-only or disability income insurance, that are exempt from this requirement.

For younger readers

When people get sick with cancer, they often have to take strong medicine called chemotherapy. This medicine can make their hair fall out. There are special helmets called "scalp cooling systems" that cool the head down to help stop the hair from falling out. This new law says that health insurance companies must pay for these cooling helmets so that patients can use them without paying a lot of money. This rule will start for insurance plans in the year 2027.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Cancer patientsHealth insurance companiesOncologistsChemotherapy patientsEmployers providing health insurance
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Expands the social safety net by ensuring that supportive care for cancer patients is treated as a necessity rather than a luxury available only to the wealthy.
  • Promotes dignity and mental health for patients by removing financial barriers to hair preservation technologies, recognizing the psychological toll of cancer treatment.
  • Reduces healthcare disparities by mandating that all standard insurance plans cover this treatment, preventing a two-tiered system where only those with extra funds can access FDA-approved quality-of-life devices.
  • May lead to increased insurance premiums, which disproportionately affects low-income workers and families struggling to afford basic coverage.
  • Relies on the private, for-profit insurance industry to deliver care rather than establishing a universal public system that guarantees comprehensive treatment for all residents.
  • Excludes individuals on limited-benefit plans or the uninsured, failing to provide truly universal access to these medical devices for the most vulnerable populations.
For Conservatives
  • Supports the dignity and well-being of individuals and families facing cancer, aligning with traditional values of compassion and care for the sick.
  • Encourages the use of FDA-approved medical technology, potentially stimulating market demand and innovation within the medical device sector.
  • Provides a significant lead time before implementation (January 1, 2027), allowing businesses and insurers to adjust their financial models without immediate disruption.
  • Imposes a government mandate on private businesses, interfering with the free market and the right of insurers to design their own benefit packages.
  • Likely increases health insurance costs for all policyholders, forcing consumers to pay for specific coverage they may not want or need.
  • Represents legislative overreach into private contracts, further eroding corporate freedom and expanding the regulatory burden on the insurance industry.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 76 additions

SECTION 1. Chapter 27-18 of the General Laws entitled "Accident and Sickness Insurance Policies" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 27-18-68.1. Mandatory coverage for scalp cooling systems.

(a) As used in this section, the phrase "scalp cooling systems" means any medical device that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and designed to cool the human scalp to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced or related alopecia before, during, and/or after chemotherapy administration for cancer treatment.

(b) Every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy or individual or group hospital or medical services plan contract delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2027, shall provide coverage to individuals diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatments for scalp cooling systems.

(c) This section shall not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for:

(1) Hospital confinement indemnity;

(2) Disability income;

(3) Accident only;

(4) Long-term care;

(5) Medicare supplement;

(6) Limited benefit health;

(7) Specified disease indemnity;

(8) Sickness or bodily injury or death by accident or both; and

(9) Other limited benefit policies.

SECTION 2. Chapter 27-19 of the General Laws entitled "Nonprofit Hospital Service Corporations" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 27-19-59.1. Mandatory coverage for scalp cooling systems.

(a) As used in this section, the phrase "scalp cooling systems" means any medical device that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and designed to cool the human scalp to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced or related alopecia before, during, and/or after chemotherapy administration for cancer treatment.

(b) Every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy or individual or group hospital or medical services plan contract delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2027, shall provide coverage to individuals diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatments for scalp cooling systems.

(c) This section shall not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for:

(1) Hospital confinement indemnity;

(2) Disability income;

(3) Accident only;

(4) Long-term care;

(5) Medicare supplement;

(6) Limited benefit health;

(7) Specified disease indemnity;

(8) Sickness or bodily injury or death by accident or both; and

(9) Other limited benefit policies.

SECTION 3. Chapter 27-20 of the General Laws entitled "Nonprofit Medical Service Corporations" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 27-20-54.1. Mandatory coverage for scalp cooling systems.

(a) As used in this section, the phrase "scalp cooling systems" means any medical device that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and designed to cool the human scalp to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced or related alopecia before, during, and/or after chemotherapy administration for cancer treatment.

(b) Every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy or individual or group hospital or medical services plan contract delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2027, shall provide coverage to individuals diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatments for scalp cooling systems.

(c) This section shall not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for:

(1) Hospital confinement indemnity;

(2) Disability income;

(3) Accident only;

(4) Long-term care;

(5) Medicare supplement;

(6) Limited benefit health;

(7) Specified disease indemnity;

(8) Sickness or bodily injury or death by accident or both; and

(9) Other limited benefit policies.

SECTION 4. Chapter 27-41 of the General Laws entitled "Health Maintenance Organizations" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 27-41-71.1. Mandatory coverage for scalp cooling systems.

(a) As used in this section, the phrase "scalp cooling systems" means any medical device that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and designed to cool the human scalp to prevent or reduce chemotherapy-induced or related alopecia before, during, and/or after chemotherapy administration for cancer treatment.

(b) Every individual or group hospital or medical expense insurance policy or individual or group hospital or medical services plan contract delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed in this state on or after January 1, 2027, shall provide coverage to individuals diagnosed with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatments for scalp cooling systems.

(c) This section shall not apply to insurance coverage providing benefits for:

(1) Hospital confinement indemnity;

(2) Disability income;

(3) Accident only;

(4) Long-term care;

(5) Medicare supplement;

(6) Limited benefit health;

(7) Specified disease indemnity;

(8) Sickness or bodily injury or death by accident or both; and

(9) Other limited benefit policies.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon passage.