Legend has it that while a fire destroyed the city of Rome, then Emperor Nero played his violin, thus revealing his total lack of understanding of what was happening during a crisis. If Nero headed Rhode Island government now, instead of in the mid-1600s, he’d have an orchestra of state leaders fiddling away with him while our health care system goes up in a conflagration.

If the Washington Bridge fiasco proved anything, it revealed the same sour notes being plunked by those who had the responsibility to act. They are about to have the availability of medical and dental care burn to the ground.

Here is the reality. Finding a new primary care doctor or dentist is like pulling teeth (sorry for that). The reason is obvious: there are not enough providers, with these professionals moving to better climes to get a higher rate of reimbursement for their services. Chronically low reimbursement rates from insurers have contributed to the shrinkage of these professionals in Rhode Island.

Right now Rhode Island medical professionals and hospitals and health care facilities receive far less for the same service provided in Massachusetts and Connecticut. I recently reviewed data provided by South County Hospital that showed hospitalization cost reimbursements were 17% lower than that in our neighboring states. Physicians and dentists were also lowballed on payments.

My friend who seeks medical services at the Providence VA tells me horror stories of how he sees a different doctor, usually an intern, each time he goes. Inevitably, he has to repeat his entire health profile, thereby taking more time, even from the physician. He worries about inexperience and continuity of care.

My primary care doctor had planned to stay longer than her age 65 birthday this fall but she now figures it’s not worth it. Like other physicians in Rhode Island, her malpractice insurance is astronomical, since Rhode Island is NOT one of the 26 states that cap non-economic loss in a malpractice suit.

Dentists have the same complaint regarding reimbursement. While there is a dispute regarding the number of dentists still working in Rhode Island (Providence Journal, Katherine Gregg, May 17), my dentist, who is annually selected as the best of Rhode Island, has talked about burn-out for her colleagues who work more and earn less.

There is legislation pending in the Rhode Island General Assembly which would require the state health commissioner to establish “regional parity in the rates insurers doing business here would have to pay medical professionals. The bill would require the insurers within three years to pay an average of what Rhode Island and the higher-paying Massachusetts and Connecticut pay. This legislation should pass.

Without some equitable adjustment, finding a doctor and a dentist in this state, particularly if you are a new patient, will soon become the equivalent of finding a hound’s tooth. If folks can’t find a doctor, it leads to delayed cancer diagnoses and other untreated health issues that become chronic and worsening health over time.

So, while the Washington Bridge is falling down, maybe the solons up on the Hill can change their tune and actually prevent a new catastrophe from happening. They have been forewarned by a copious amount of information of what lies ahead without action. Not let’s see if they just fiddle around.

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.