Levels of care - R.I. Gen. Laws Ann. § 40-8.10-3

Rhode Island’s Secretary of health and human services must coordinate state department responsibilities regarding long-term care assessment. Members of the department of human services, department of elderly affairs, department of children, youth, and families, and the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals1 must “meet on a regular basis in order to ensure that services are provided in a uniform and consistent manner.” Members must establish three levels of care, coordinated among state departments, which meet the needs of Medicaid recipients, are patient-centered, and support individual self-determination. The “highest level of care” will allow individuals that require institutional care to have a choice to receive long-term care in an institution, home, or community setting. The “high level of care” will provide individuals with needed home and community-based services. Finally, the “preventive level of care” will provide individuals with services to prevent admission or readmission or reduce the length of stay in an institution.