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.
Rise of Telehealth, Licensure Compacts Weighs on State Medical Board Staff; ODH Awaits Results of Budget Cuts to Lead Abatement Efforts in Occupational License Reviews
Source: Hannah News
As the number of licensed medical professionals in Ohio has risen in recent years with the rise in use of telehealth and the state’s membership in a growing number of interstate licensure compacts, the executive director of the State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) that oversees those licenses told the House General Government Committee recently that the board now has to be judicious in how to use its resources.
Stephanie Loucka told the committee that the SMBO licenses and regulates 103,024 healthcare professionals in Ohio, a 13% increase from 2019 and a 33% increase in the last decade.
Legislative efforts in recent years, largely led by Senator Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson, OH), have increased the number of interstate licensure compacts to which Ohio is a party. Sen. Loucka said recently that while the SMBO welcomes the new pathways to licensure the compacts represent, the additional license types have added complexity to the work of the SMBO.
Sen. Loucka said working in a compact with approximately 40 other jurisdictions adds complexity to licensure and enforcement efforts. Compacts can require operations that are very different from the SMBO’s previously automated and streamlined processes, as well as introduce new disciplinary processes.
Sen. Loucka told Representative Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington, OH) that the $700 an individual pays for licensure received through a compact is paid to the compact itself and not to the SMBO. Additionally, the board’s fees were set in the 1990s and haven’t been adjusted since.
“We can’t exist on ‘90s dollars,” said Sen. Loucka.
She added that the SMBO is actively looking at its fee structures, perhaps with the intention of changing those before the next biennial budget.
Sen. Loucka told Rep. Russo that the compacts essentially act as a “middle man,” in that an individual can choose states within a compact in which they would like to work, the compact makes the individual aware of applicable opportunities, then the state issues a license.
Sen. Loucka said that as more states have enrolled in licensure compacts, it makes the SMBO’s workload more complicated.
The rise in telehealth providers also poses a challenge for the SMBO. Stephanie Loucka said the standard for telehealth should be the same as it is for an in-person visit to a health professional, but the SMBO knows that’s not happening.
Representative Kevin Miller (R-Newark, OH) said he was concerned that with the amount of care via telehealth that goes unmonitored, no one is checking on telehealth professionals. Sen. Loucka said that had been a point of discussion within the SMBO’s committees, particularly with respect to what she described as “disturbing” trends in prescribing, including a 20% increase in prescriptions for stimulants for 70-80 year olds.
Sen. Loucka said one issue is when a patient in Ohio seeks telehealth from a provider who is not in Ohio, and Sthe MBO doesn’t have subpoena authority for impropriety by a provider located out of state. While the SMBO appreciates the access that telehealth gives patients, especially in behavioral health, issues like overprescribing may require a legislative fix.
Sen. Loucka told Representative Stephanie Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland, OH) that some in-person practice types receive more complaints from Ohioans concerning their practice, especially psychiatrists and pain management specialists who often deal with patients showing drug-seeking behavior.
Sen. Loucka said the increase in workload means that the SMBO has had to get smart about how the agency does its work, including a workgroup currently assessing how artificial intelligence (AI) could assist the board’s efforts. The SMBO is being cautious with artificial intelligence (AI), though, said Sen. Loucka, because it deals with health records and other sensitive information, thus patient confidentiality is a major consideration.
- Food Safety Certification
- Registered Environmental Health Specialists
- Radon Education and Licensing Program
- Lead Licensure and Accreditation Program
- Radiologic and Radioactive Handling
- ODH Bureau of Regulatory Operations and Bureau of Survey and Certification
- Epinephrine Autoinjector Certificate.
Rep. Russo asked the witnesses about cuts to the state’s lead abatement efforts in HB96. ODH Director of Government Affairs Lisa Griffin said prior to the current fiscal year, ODH covered licensure costs and exam fees for potential lead abatement technicians to ensure a workforce in the state. Reports on the effect of budget cuts on recruitment efforts won’t be known until ODH compiles its annual report next year.
Rep. Miller asked ODH Field Services Section Chief John Belt about ODH’s various types of radon technicians. Field Services Section Chief Belt said that a proprietor of a radon inspection business may have to have certification on several different levels, whereas a business owner with a staff may only need specialized workers.
Rep. Miller further questioned witnesses on the differences between licensure for radon inspection versus sewer or septic installers, which ODH licenses far fewer of. ODH Bureau Chief of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection Gene Phillips explained that ODH bonds sewage system contractors, who are then registered by local health departments on a local level. Gene Phillips said that sewage system workers also need to go through regular training on par with the continuing education Belt detailed about radon.
Ohio Decriminalized Fentanyl Test Strips in Effort to Curb Overdoses
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order recently allowing the Ohio Board of Pharmacy (OBP) to legalize drug testing tools aimed at preventing overdoses.
The emergency rule exempts test strips and reagent kits from the state’s drug paraphernalia definition. The tools can detect fentanyl; xylazine; medetomidine; benzimidazole-opioids, commonly known as nitazenes; and benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine-related compounds.
“Items such as test strips have been shown to reduce the risk of overdose, and these items are important in Ohio’s overall strategy to lower overdose deaths,” Gov. DeWine said. “We are removing barriers for communities to access tools that prevent overdose and save lives.”
The change follows legislation passed by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by Gov. DeWine earlier this year. The law permits the OBP to exempt certain instruments from paraphernalia laws if they demonstrate efficacy in reducing drug poisoning by determining the presence of specific compounds.
For additional information, view the article Test Strips and Reagent Kits Legal to Distribute in Ohio.
ACA Marketplace Premiums Expected to Spike if Enhanced Tax Credit Not Extended
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
As the federal government shutdown debate continues over the continuation of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace subsidies, Ohio plans have signaled that marketplace premiums in the state could spike next year without an extension of the credits.
The federal government shut down at midnight on October 1 as Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a spending plan. Democrats are demanding that the GOP roll back cuts made to the “enhanced premium tax credit” as part of HR 1, the federal reconciliation bill sometimes referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The credit was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to subsidize premiums for insurance on the exchanges created under the ACA.
A new KFF report found that premiums for insurance purchased on the exchanges nationally “will more than double” if the subsidies are allowed to expire at the end of the year. As with the cost of health care, the size of the subsidies has grown annually, so their expiration means bigger losses for recipients going forward, the KFF report said.
In Ohio, eight companies are offering 17 plans for 2026. All are proposing premium increases ranging from 2.5% to 42%.
In August, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released a fact sheet that provides a high-level summary of several provisions of HR 1, along with information about related changes contained in HB 96, the state biennial budget bill.