Rhode Island Federal Delegation Calls on CMS to Protect Rhode Islanders’ Health Coverage 

WASHINGTON, DC –  TODAY, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Congressmen Gabe Amo (D-RI) and Seth Magaziner (D-RI) in sending a letter urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz to delay and reconsider implementing the agency’s Interim Final Rule (IFR) on “community engagement” requirements under Trump and Republicans’ Big, Ugly Law. The lawmakers warned the rule’s narrow interpretation of the medical frailty exemption could subject approximately 90,000 Rhode Islanders to new requirements, with an estimated 24,000 at risk of losing coverage. Under the new “community engagement” requirements, individuals receiving treatment for cancer, developmental disabilities, and other complex conditions could lose critical protections, as states would be forced to navigate significant new administrative burdens. 

“We urge the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to withdraw its Interim Final Rule (IFR) implementing Medicaid “community engagement” requirements under H.R. 1, particularly the medical frailty exemption. These work reporting requirements passed by Congressional Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump last year will not increase employment, but instead risk causing thousands of Rhode Islanders and millions of Americans to lose their health coverage during an affordability crisis,” wrote the lawmakers. “CMS must delay implementation and reconsider the rule before vulnerable and medically fragile individuals needlessly lose access to essential health care.”

A copy of the full letter can be found HERE.
 

Background

As a member of the House Budget Committee, Congressman Amo has consistently opposed Trump’s cuts to Americans’ health care. 

In April 2026, Amo grilled Trump’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought, over his efforts to slash health care funding, forcing states to make impossible choices and pushing working families to the brink.

In December 2025, Congressman Amoled a town hall with HealthSource RI to answer Rhode Islander’s questions about health care coverage because of the Republican health care crisis.

Amo joined behavioral and mental health leaders at Butler Hospital in October 2025 to discuss how Republican attacks on health care impede Rhode Islanders’ ability to access care.

In September 2025, Congressman Amo rallied with HealthSource RI Director Lindsay Lang, health care providers, patients, and community leaders at Blackstone Valley Community Health Care to demand that Republicans extend cost-saving Affordable Care Act health insurance tax credits that help Americans afford health care.
 

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