---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES"
description: "Increases insurance coverage for hearing aids from one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) to one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars ($1,750), per ear, for all people regardless of age effective January 1, 2026."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ri"
legislature: "Rhode Island General Assembly"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 5218"
citation: "Rhode Island HB 5218 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Azzinaro", "Bennett", "Cortvriend", "Donovan", "Edwards", "Handy", "McEntee", "Noret", "Serpa", "Shallcross Smith"]
version_count: 1
action_count: 14
vote_count: 1
first_action: "2025-01-29"
last_action: "2025-07-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/16f009b6-d30d-4a7e-bf09-9cc755c275a1"
source_url: "https://status.rilegislature.gov/"
source_hash: "714637368ce097ba5e2ab8a01f4cd55b4fb97cdab7a04c5e0bb186ad2aa726d7"
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 HB 5218 (2025) — AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES

Increases insurance coverage for hearing aids from one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) to one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars ($1,750), per ear, for all people regardless of age effective January 1, 2026.

## Version chain

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

1. **5218** (committee substitute) — [source](http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H5218.pdf)

## Votes

- PASSAGE — **67–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Azzinaro — primary (person)
- Bennett — primary (person)
- Cortvriend — primary (person)
- Donovan — primary (person)
- Edwards — primary (person)
- Handy — primary (person)
- McEntee — primary (person)
- Noret — primary (person)
- Serpa — primary (person)
- Shallcross Smith — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2025-01-29** 01/29/2025 Introduced, referred to House Health & Human Services `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-07** 03/07/2025 Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration (03/13/2025)
- **2025-03-13** 03/13/2025 Committee recommended measure be held for further study `committee-failure`
- **2025-03-21** 03/21/2025 Scheduled for consideration (03/27/2025)
- **2025-03-27** 03/27/2025 Committee recommends passage `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-04** 04/04/2025 Placed on House Calendar (04/10/2025) `reading-3`
- **2025-04-10** 04/10/2025 House read and passed `passage`
- **2025-05-02** 05/02/2025 Referred to Senate Health and Human Services `referral-committee`
- **2025-06-16** 06/16/2025 Scheduled for consideration (06/18/2025)
- **2025-06-18** 06/18/2025 Committee recommends passage in concurrence `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-06-18** 06/18/2025 Placed on Senate Calendar (06/20/2025) `reading-3`
- **2025-06-21** 06/21/2025 Senate passed in concurrence `passage`
- **2025-06-25** 06/25/2025 Transmitted to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2025-07-01** 07/01/2025 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/16f009b6-d30d-4a7e-bf09-9cc755c275a1`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Rhode Island legislature records).