The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) advocacy team monitors healthcare related legislation, rule changes, and legislative updates for Ohio’s family physicians.
To access the OAFP Bill Tracker, visit the OAFP Public Policy webpage and click on the Bill Tracker icon.
Read on for this week’s updates and contact Advocacy Coordinator Kaela Springhetti with questions or for ways to get involved.
Request for Physician Feedback
The Ohio Department of Medicaid is conducting pre-clearance stakeholder outreach on the five-year rule review for Ohio Administrative Code 5160-4-33, application of topical fluoride treatments by non-dentist providers.
Please email any comments to Kate Mahler, CAE, no later than Thursday, May 1.
April Issue of AAFP’s Family Medicine Advocacy Rounds
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has released its April issue of Family Medicine Advocacy Rounds, a monthly tip sheet to educate, engage, and update you on the latest policy issues affecting family physicians and their patients.
- Family Physicians Weigh in on Appropriations
- AAFP Shares Recommendations for AI in Healthcare
- CMS Releases 2026 IPPS Proposed Rule.
Columbus Sues Trump Administration Over Federal Health Moves that Led to Job Cuts
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
The city of Columbus is suing the Trump administration for billions in federal cuts to health funding that are being acutely felt in Ohio’s capital city.
In March, the federal government pulled back $11.4 billion in promised funding for state and community health departments given out in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for tracking, treating, and preventing infectious diseases. Federal officials cited the COVID-19 pandemic being “over” as the reason for eliminating the grants.
That included slashing $250 million for childhood vaccination programs at the Ohio Department of Health and $3 million of the $6 million already-promised grants to Columbus Public Health, resulting in the termination of 11 infectious disease investigators.
The cuts are especially dangerous, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court, amid numerous ongoing measles outbreaks across the country, including in Ohio. Cutting the funds “significantly weakens” the city’s ability to respond to any potential infectious disease outbreaks.
Read the full article in The Columbus Dispatch.
Medicaid Cuts Would Impact More Than a Quarter of Ohioans, Children and the Elderly Most of all
Source: The Ohio Capital Journal
Budget cuts at the federal and state levels have the potential to raise the uninsured rate in Ohio and put health coverage in jeopardy for a large part of the state.
A study of state and federal data by the Ohio-based Center for Community Solutions found that more than a quarter of the state’s population receives health coverage through Medicaid.
Medicaid in Ohio covers two in five children, one in five working-age adults, and one in 10 adults aged 65 and older, according to the center.
The largest group in the state’s Medicaid caseload is families and children, making up 53.2% of the cases, followed by the 25.5% covered by Medicaid expansion. Older Ohioans, along with the blind and disabled, make up 16.6% of the caseload.
Since Medicaid was expanded in Ohio, the uninsured rate in the state dropped by half, state data say. The Health Policy Institute of Ohio has stated that Medicaid expansion “has been a major contributor to Ohio’s uninsured rate dropping by half from 14% in 2010 to 7% in 2022.”
“Preventive care and treating conditions early reduce the need for high-cost emergency room visits, long hospital stays, and additional public spending,” the Center for Community Solutions study on Medicaid stated.
Nearly 50% of the 769,520 Ohioans who are enrolled because of Medicaid expansion are a part of the state’s workforce, and others are “students, caretakers, or dealing with a chronic health condition,” the center found.
This is notable as the Trump Administration and Congress look at cuts to Medicaid as part of proposals to slash federal spending overall, along with proposals regarding work requirements for the program.
Read the full article in The Ohio Capital Journal.