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.
AAFP Activity Related to the USPSTF; Speak Out Now Available
Source: American Academy of Family Physicians
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently fired two vice chairs of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), John Wong, MD (internist) and Esa Davis, MD, MPH, FAAFP (family physician). This action comes after months of speculation that the Secretary would take steps to restructure the composition of the taskforce.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has been closely tracking actions associated with the USPSTF, including raising concerns about potential reforms in July 2025. With this recent announcement, the AAFP endorsed the American Medical Association’s (AMA) statement responding to the recent HHS decision impacting USPSTF leadership. The AMA’s statement emphasized the importance of preserving the USPSTF’s transparent, non-partisan, evidence-based process and ensuring clinicians with expertise in preventive medicine and primary care continue to guide preventive care recommendations.
USPSTF recommendations play a critical role in guiding evidence-based preventive care and helping patients access lifesaving screenings and services. Preventive care recommendations must remain grounded in science, clinical expertise, and patient outcomes – not politics. It is also essential that family physicians have a seat at the table in conversations shaping the future of preventive care policy
The AAFP is calling on family physicians and advocates to speak out in support of protecting the integrity and independence of the USPSTF.
The AAFP has put forward names of family physicians to join the taskforce in response to a request for nominees earlier this month. They believe it’s essential that family physicians continue to have a seat at the table in conversations shaping the future of preventive care policy.
Now is an important time for Congress to hear directly from family physicians and advocates about the value of preserving the USPSTF as an independent, evidence-based body. Please take action through the AAFP Speak Out.
The AAFP will continue to offer updates on USPSTF as information becomes available and appreciates your partnership in advocating in support of preventative health and science.
Senate Bill Seeks to Curb Noncompete Agreements That Doctors Say Limit Their Practice
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
A bill moving through the Ohio Senate would limit the ability of nonprofit hospitals to stop doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers from taking jobs with competing providers after they leave.
Sponsored by Senator Terry Johnson, DO, a retired physician from the tiny southern-Ohio town of McDermott, Senate Bill 301 targets restrictive noncompete clauses that can force healthcare professionals to leave the communities they have spent years serving. The legislation would sharply curb contracts that bar workers from taking another job within a certain geographic area for a set period of time after leaving an employer.
The proposal is a revival of Senate Bill 126 from the previous General Assembly, an effort that lost momentum after the Federal Trade Commission adopted a nationwide ban on most noncompete agreements in 2024. That rule was later struck down in federal court, restoring the status quo.
“The only way to resolve this situation will not be from the federal government, but at the state level,” Sen. Johnson told lawmakers at the first hearing in November.
Read the full article in The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
May Issue of AAFP’s Family Medicine Advocacy Rounds
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has released its May 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 Physician Tells Congress It’s Time to Reform Medicare Physician Payments
- AAFP Urges DHS to Not Stall on Visas for IMGs
- Family Physicians Support Legislation to Increase Primary Care Investment
- AAFP and SCAN Leaders: Making America Healthy Again Requires More Than a Committee
- AAFP Speaks Out on Student Loans
- Family Physicians Urge Congress to Oppose ECAPS.
Gov. DeWine Defends Administration Against Medicaid Fraud Criticism
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
Governor Mike DeWine offered a defense of his administration recently following criticism by his fellow Republican legislative leaders and the party’s candidate to succeed him after reports of fraud in Ohio’s Medicaid program, specifically related to home health providers (Source: Gov. DeWine Answers Criticism from his Fellow Republicans about Ohio Medicaid, Statehouse News Bureau, May 20).
GOP candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy, House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima, OH), and Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon, OH) have criticized Gov. DeWine for vetoing budget provisions they say would have prevented Medicaid fraud. But Gov. DeWine said he had a reason.
“The one bill I vetoed would have prohibited us from using GPS coordinates to check on fraud, to make sure that the person who is delivering the service is actually in that woman or man’s house,” Gov. DeWine said. “So we had to veto that.”
Gov. DeWine has put a plan in place he says will combat Medicaid fraud. He said he is working with the Trump Administration to protect Ohio’s Medicaid system.
Since the beginning of 2023, Ohio has secured 444 Medicaid fraud indictments, 481 convictions, and 146 civil settlements and judgments, resulting in $78.4 million in recovered taxpayer funds.
Ohio House Bill Would Create Vaping Registry, Tighter Regulations on Sales
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
Ohio lawmakers want to crack down on the state’s largely unchecked vaping market by creating a statewide product registry and tightening licensing requirements for retailers (Source: Ohio Lawmakers want Vaping Registry, Strict Licensing in Crackdown on Unregulated Market, Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 19).
House Bill 849, sponsored by Republican Representatives Jodi Salvo of Bolivar, OH, and Phil Plummer of Dayton, OH, would establish a directory of vaping products that have received or are seeking federal authorization, effectively banning the sale of products not on the list and treating them as contraband.
The bill would ban marketing and packaging designed to appeal to minors, including products that feature cartoon characters, celebrity imagery, or designs that mimic school supplies, smartphones, cosmetics or toys, as well as products with built-in entertainment features such as games or music.
Retailers would pay a $125 application fee per location for a license to sell vaping products. Distributors handling vapor products exclusively would pay the same rate, while those distributing tobacco products — or both tobacco and vapor products — would face a $1,000 per-location fee.
ACA Deductibles Up $1k, Enrollment Projected to Drop 5 Million, KFF Analysis Finds
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
The expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits at the end of 2025 has triggered unprecedented disruption in the individual insurance market, KFF research has found (Source: ACA Marketplace Deductibles Surge $1000 in 2026 as Enhanced Tax Credits Expire, American Journal of Managed Care, May 20).
Two new analyses published May 19 by KFF document historic increases in deductibles, a projected enrollment drop of nearly 5 million people, and a dramatic shift toward high-deductible plans as consumers scramble to afford coverage without enhanced subsidies.
The average ACA Marketplace deductible rose 37%, or more than $1,000, from $2,759 in 2025 to $3,786 in 2026 — the steepest increase in the program’s history. The jump was driven primarily by a large-scale migration from silver to bronze plans, with the share of consumers selecting bronze plans climbing from 30% (7.3 million people) in 2025 to 40% (9.2 million people) in 2026. Meanwhile, the share selecting silver plans fell from 57% to 43%, marking a record low.
Plan sign-ups declined by more than 1 million during the 2026 Open Enrollment Period to 23.1 million, the sharpest single-year drop since the ACA Marketplaces launched. KFF projects that average effectuated Marketplace enrollment could decline by 21.5%, falling from 22.3 million in 2025 to approximately 17.5 million in 2026.