---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- THE TELEMEDICINE COVERAGE ACT (Amends the provisions of the telemedicine coverage act and provide coverage for telemedicine under Rhode Island Medicaid.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- THE TELEMEDICINE COVERAGE ACT (Amends the provisions of the telemedicine coverage act and provide coverage for telemedicine under Rhode Island Medicaid.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 4"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 4 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["COVID-19", "Health Care Affordability", "Health Care Plans/Services", "Health Insurance", "Insurance", "Medical"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Burke", "Cano", "Coyne", "Felag", "Goldin", "Goodwin", "Lawson", "Miller", "Seveney", "Valverde"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 22
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2021-01-11"
last_action: "2021-07-06"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/c9a2e28e-3617-4344-bfd3-a3f684bf4038"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "bbc6ea324962c601c78fa08e6d2c5bd22716b69b0759581f9a07c6322adfff69"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ri"]
---

# Rhode Island SB 4 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- THE TELEMEDICINE COVERAGE ACT (Amends the provisions of the telemedicine coverage act and provide coverage for telemedicine under Rhode Island Medicaid.)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **4 SUB B as amended** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0004Baa.pdf)

## Votes

- Approval of Amendment — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- Passage as Amended — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT — **61–0** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT — **61–0** (pass) · upper
- AS AMENDED — **71–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Burke — primary (person)
- Cano — primary (person)
- Coyne — primary (person)
- Felag — primary (person)
- Goldin — primary (person)
- Goodwin — primary (person)
- Lawson — primary (person)
- Miller — primary (person)
- Seveney — primary (person)
- Valverde — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-11** 01/11/2021 Introduced, referred to Senate Health and Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-01-11** 01/11/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (01/14/2021)
- **2021-01-13** 01/13/2021 Proposed Substitute
- **2021-01-14** 01/14/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-01-19** 01/19/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (01/26/2021)
- **2021-01-26** 01/26/2021 Senate voted to recommit to Senate Health and Human Services
- **2021-02-05** 02/05/2021 Scheduled for consideration (02/11/2021)
- **2021-02-10** 02/10/2021 Proposed Substitute
- **2021-02-11** 02/11/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-02-12** 02/12/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (02/23/2021)
- **2021-02-23** 02/23/2021 Senate passed Sub A as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2021-02-26** 02/26/2021 Referred to House Finance `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-24** 06/24/2021 Committee transferred to House Health & Human Services
- **2021-06-25** 06/25/2021 Scheduled for consideration (06/28/2021)
- **2021-06-26** 06/26/2021 Proposed Substitute
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub B `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-29** 06/29/2021 Placed on House Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 House passed Sub B as amended (floor amendment) `passage`
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Senate passed Sub B as amended in concurrence `passage`
- **2021-07-02** 07/02/2021 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2021-07-06** 07/06/2021 Signed by Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/c9a2e28e-3617-4344-bfd3-a3f684bf4038`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).