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.
Trump and RFK Jr. Link Autism to Tylenol and Doctors Push Back: Key Takeaways
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
In a long-anticipated announcement, President Donald Trump and his top healthcare aides urged pregnant women not to take Tylenol unless it was absolutely necessary, and announced an array of efforts aimed at understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder.
President Trump’s remarks included many of his own unverified medical opinions, but also outlined concrete steps that the federal government will take to educate pregnant women on Tylenol and discourage doctors and other healthcare professionals from overprescribing.
The officials outlined a new potential treatment for autism that is not widely accepted in the medical community, and said they would be putting money into studying environmental factors that could contribute to autism.
“It’s not that everything is 100% understood or known, but I think we’ve made a lot of strides,” President Trump said.
Read the full article in The Columbus Dispatch.
Ohio’s Rural and Safety-Net Hospitals Will Lose Big Under New Medicaid Rules, Analysis Says
Source: Ohio Capital Journal
One of the main ways President Donald Trump’s signature law will save billions in the Medicaid program is through new work requirements. A recently released analysis said they will put a big dent in Ohio hospital revenues while increasing the cost of caring for newly uninsured patients.
The analysis, by the Commonwealth Fund, said that across the country, rural hospitals and those that care for a large share of the poor will be hardest hit.
President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid spending — including about $33 billion in Ohio — over the next 10 years. It also cuts $230 billion in federal food assistance over the same period.
At the same time, the law gives $1 trillion in tax cuts to the richest 1%. It also balloons the deficit by $3.4 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
One of the biggest ways the Trump law will cut Medicaid spending is through work mandates, which will take effect just after next year’s midterm elections.
The work requirements are being imposed even though 92% of non-disabled Medicaid recipients under 65 are either working, or couldn’t work due to caregiving responsibilities, or were ill, or were in school.
Read the full article in The Ohio Capital Journal.