Official State of Rhode Island website

Governor Dan McKee RI 2030 Plan Charting a Course for the Future of the Ocean State

Supporting Physical Health

  • Provided critical nutrition support to an average of 84,000 food-insecure Rhode Island households per month, including 40,474 children under 18, through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
    • Ensured every eligible household received their full SNAP benefit during the federal government shutdown deploying emergency state resources November 1, including up to $6 million in TANF payments for families with children and $200,000 in emergency support for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, and delivering full benefit payments on November 8, with no interruption in assistance.
    • Partnered with community-based organizations, including the Rhode Island to conduct more than 29,000 hours of SNAP outreach in FFY 2025, helping Rhode Islanders access and maintain benefits amid an evolving federal policy landscape.
  • Continued implementation, in partnership with RIDOH, of a science- and data-driven vaccination program for children and families statewide, reinforcing evidence-based public health guidance, countering misinformation, and ensuring broad access to immunizations—including Hepatitis B, COVID-19, and more than a dozen other preventable diseases—regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
    • Achieved a 72 percent protection rate for infants during the 2024–2025 RSV season through maternal vaccination (28 percent) and immunization with nirsevimab (44 percent), exceeding the national average of 66 percent and strengthening infant health outcomes statewide.
  • Joined the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, an interjurisdictional regional partnership focused on emergency preparedness, vaccines, data collection, infectious disease, epidemiology and laboratory services, in response to recent events at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Joined the Governors Public Health Alliance, a coalition of 15 governors working together to protect public health by helping states communicate across state lines, coordinate on pressing public health challenges, and support access to critical health care like vaccines.
  • Reduced youth tobacco use rates in Rhode Island by enhancing statewide tobacco control policies, expanding community-based education and outreach, and promoting youth engagement in tobacco prevention efforts.
    • Placed several school-based initiatives in 2024 and 2025 to address youth vaping and help encourage students to quit using tobacco and nicotine products, including e-cigarettes. Expanded number of 100 percent Tobacco-Free middle and high schools from 12 to 29, addressed youth vaping through alternative-to-suspension programs that educate students on harms of tobacco and nicotine, encourage quitting, and support reduced absenteeism.  
  • Strengthened the enforcement of the flavored Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) products ban in 2025 by transferring licensing and oversight to the Department of Revenue’s Division of Taxation and implemented a tax on ENDS products comparable to those imposed on other tobacco products as part of the FY 2025 budget.
  • Expanded the definition of other tobacco products (OTP), effective October 1, 2025, to include all products that contain nicotine, including tobacco-free nicotine pouches, which are the second most used tobacco product among youth, behind e-cigarettes, and pose addiction risks. Increasing the price of tobacco products through strategies such as tax parity is one of the most effective methods to prevent or reduce tobacco product use and promote cessation.
  • Launched Rhode Island Responsible, a public health campaign aimed at providing evidence-based information and practical resources that promote cannabis prevention among youth, pregnant individuals, and drivers and responsible use across the state.
  • Continued as a national leader in screening, early diagnosis, and treatment for lung cancer, according to a 2025 report by the American Lung Association.
    • Ranked first in the nation for early diagnosis at 35.5 percent. Nationally, only 28.1 percent of cases are diagnosed at an early stage when the survival rate is much higher.
    • Ranked first in the nation for lung cancer screening at 31 percent. Lung cancer screening with annual low-dose CT scans for those at high risk can reduce the lung cancer death rate by up to 20 percent. Nationally, only 18.2 percent of those at high risk were screened.
    • Ranked first in the nation for survival at 37.6 percent. The national average rate of people alive five years after a lung cancer diagnosis is 29.7 percent.
    • Ranked fourth in the nation for surgery at 24.5 percent. Lung cancer can often be treated with surgery if it is diagnosed at an early stage and has not spread. Nationally, 20.7 percent of cases underwent surgery.
  • Received a $4.4 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s State Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) program to implement evidence-based strategies to reduce health disparities related to food access, nutrition security, healthy food procurement, breastfeeding, Farm to Early Care and Education, and access to bike/pedestrian friendly communities. This grant is designed to improve physical activity, nutrition, and wellness initiatives; it was awarded to only 17 states.
  • Completed a 2023-2028 Rhode Island Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Strategic Plan. This document provides a roadmap for all Rhode Islanders, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, physical ability, or sexual orientation, to live their most optimal life through culturally appropriate, nourishing, and affordable foods and safe places to recreate. 
pharmacy signage

The Road to RI 2030: Physical Health Goals

  • Ensure SNAP benefits are issued accurately and in full each month to eligible households by strengthening program administration and verification, reducing the State’s Payment Error Rate (PER), and lowering Rhode Island’s share of federally shared benefit costs.
  • Double state investment in the Rhode Island Community Food Bank to protect food security for Rhode Islanders as more families face increased need and federal SNAP eligibility is reduced.
  • Provide a $600,000 direct state grant to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England to help preserve access to essential preventive and reproductive health services amid federal funding reductions
  • Leverage the HEAL Plan and other health initiatives to reduce the obesity rate in Rhode Island, currently estimated at 30 percent.
  • Increase the reach of the Rhode Island Nicotine Helpline to achieve the North American Quitline Consortium Quality Benchmark of 6 percent, to support evidence-based quit attempts for all Rhode Islanders. 
  • Engage at least three new community partners annually to connect with established workgroups addressing nicotine addiction and treatment in learning how to implement culturally sensitive educational programming and build local coalitions to educate on tobacco and nicotine health risks, reduce youth initiation, and provide local quit resources
  • Reduce e-cigarette use in youth from 16.5 percent (2023 YRBS) to 10.1 percent by 2030.
  • Continue to reduce PFAS levels in Rhode Island’s drinking water supplies and assist water suppliers with remediation plans to quickly reduce and remove PFAS.
  • Increase cancer screenings, including: (1) colorectal cancer screening among all at- risk Rhode Island men and women from 80.8 percent to 85.0 percent by 2030, (2) breast cancer screening among all at-risk Rhode Islanders from 77.9 percent to 85.0 percent by 2030, and (3) cervical cancer screening among all at-risk Rhode Islanders from 79.3 percent to 85.0 percent by 2030.