(a)  The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all stages of the organ transplant process.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-95-4

  • Anatomical gift: means a donation of all or part of a human body to take effect after the donor's death for the purpose of transplantation or transfusion. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-95-3
  • Auxiliary aids or services: means an aid or service that is used to provide information to an individual with a cognitive, developmental, intellectual, neurological, or physical disability and is available in a format or manner that allows the individual to better understand the information. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-95-3
  • Covered entity: means :

    (i)  Any licensed provider of healthcare services, including licensed healthcare practitioners, hospitals, nursing facilities, laboratories, intermediate care facilities, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, institutions for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and prison health centers;

    (ii)  Any entity responsible for matching anatomical gift donors to potential recipients. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-95-3

  • Disability: means a disability as defined in § 42-87-1 in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, at 42 U. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-95-3
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Organ transplant: means the transplantation or transfusion of a part of a human body into the body of another for the purpose of treating or curing a medical condition. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-95-3
  • Qualified recipient: means an individual who has a disability and meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of an anatomical gift with or without any of the following:

    (i)  Individuals or entities available to support and assist the individual with an anatomical gift or transplantation;

    (ii)  Auxiliary aids or services;

    (iii)  Reasonable modifications to the policies, practices, or procedures of a covered entity, including modifications to allow for either or both of the following:

    (A)  Communication with one or more individuals or entities available to support or assist with the recipient's care and medication after surgery or transplantation;

    (B)  Consideration of support networks available to the individual, including family, friends, and home and community-based services, including home and community-based services funded through Medicaid, Medicare, another health plan in which the individual is enrolled, or any program or source of funding available to the individual, when determining whether the individual is able to comply with post-transplant medical requirements. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-95-3

(b)  A covered entity shall not, solely on the basis of an individual’s disability:

(1)  Consider the individual ineligible to receive an anatomical gift or organ transplant;

(2)  Deny medical services or other services related to organ transplantation, including diagnostic services, evaluation, surgery, counseling, post-operative treatment, and services;

(3)  Refuse to refer the individual to a transplant center or other related specialist for the purpose of being evaluated for or receiving an organ transplant;

(4)  Refuse to place a qualified recipient on an organ transplant waiting list;

(5)  Place a qualified recipient on an organ transplant waiting list at a lower priority position than the position at which the individual would have been placed if the individual did not have a disability; or

(6)  Refuse insurance coverage for any procedure associated with being evaluated for or receiving an anatomical gift or organ transplant, including post-transplantation and post-transfusion care.

(c)  Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, a covered entity may take an individual’s disability into account when making treatment or coverage recommendations or decisions, solely to the extent that the disability has been found by a physician or surgeon, following personalized evaluation of the individual, to be medically significant to the provision of the anatomical gift.

(d)  If an individual has the necessary support system to assist the individual in complying with post-transplant medical requirements, a covered entity may not consider the individual’s inability to independently comply with post-transplant medical requirements to be medically significant for the purposes of subsection (c) of this section.

(e)  A covered entity must make reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, or procedures to allow individuals with disabilities access to transplantation-related services, including diagnostic services, surgery, coverage, post-operative treatment, and counseling, unless the entity can demonstrate that making such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of such services.

(f)  A covered entity must take steps necessary to ensure that an individual with a disability is not denied medical services or other services related to organ transplantation, including diagnostic services, surgery, post-operative treatment, or counseling, due to the absence of auxiliary aids or services, unless the covered entity demonstrates that taking the steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the medical services or other services related to organ transplantation or would result in an undue burden for the covered entity.

(g)  Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require a covered entity to make a referral or recommendation for or perform a medically inappropriate organ transplant.

(h)  A covered entity shall otherwise comply with the requirements of Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

History of Section.
P.L. 2021, ch. 109, § 2, effective June 30, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 133, § 2, effective June 30, 2021.