---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS (Pharmacists may discuss reimbursement criteria with individuals presenting prescriptions.)"
description: "AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS (Pharmacists may discuss reimbursement criteria with individuals presenting prescriptions.)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 497"
citation: "Rhode Island SB 497 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Health Care Affordability", "Health Insurance", "Insurance", "Pharmaceutical Assistance", "Prescription drugs"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ciccone", "Coyne", "Felag", "Raptakis", "Seveney", "Sosnowski"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 19
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2021-03-04"
last_action: "2021-07-06"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ab6429d1-767e-4f4c-90bb-5bbc88dbdaab"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "23857411541895a29c62d2dc02986cd904a5943fc387f6461f35d6bfcf6e9dbf"
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 497 (2021) — AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS (Pharmacists may discuss reimbursement criteria with individuals presenting prescriptions.)

## Version chain

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

1. **497 SUB A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0497A.pdf)

## Votes

- Passage — **32–0** (pass) · upper
- Passage — **36–0** (pass) · upper
- PASSAGE — **71–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Ciccone — primary (person)
- Coyne — primary (person)
- Felag — primary (person)
- Raptakis — primary (person)
- Seveney — primary (person)
- Sosnowski — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2021-03-04** 03/04/2021 Introduced, referred to Senate Health and Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-12** 03/12/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/18/2021)
- **2021-03-18** 03/18/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-05-21** 05/21/2021 Scheduled for consideration (05/27/2021)
- **2021-05-27** 05/27/2021 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-05-28** 05/28/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/01/2021)
- **2021-06-01** 06/01/2021 Senate read and passed `passage`
- **2021-06-02** 06/02/2021 Referred to House Health & Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2021-06-11** 06/11/2021 Scheduled for hearing (06/14/2021)
- **2021-06-14** 06/14/2021 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- **2021-06-28** 06/28/2021 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (06/30/2021)
- **2021-06-29** 06/29/2021 Proposed Substitute
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 Committee recommends passage of Sub A `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-06-30** 06/30/2021 Placed on House Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 House passed Sub A `passage`
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Placed on Senate Calendar (07/01/2021)
- **2021-07-01** 07/01/2021 Senate passed Sub A 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/ab6429d1-767e-4f4c-90bb-5bbc88dbdaab`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).