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.
State Reps. Hiner, Klopfenstein Introduce New Rural Healthcare Legislation
Source: The Ohio House of Representatives
Ohio State Representatives Mark Hiner (R-Howard, OH) and Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland, OH) recently introduced House Bill (HB) 969 – legislation to revise the composition of some local boards of health, specifically in rural areas of Ohio.
“When qualified people are willing to serve, government shouldn’t stand in the way,” said Rep. Hiner. “Physician assistants and certified nurse practitioners have the medical expertise local boards of health need, and this bill removes an outdated barrier that has made those positions harder to fill.”
“Ohioans largely depend on their local boards of health to protect the public’s safety and respond to emerging health challenges,” said Rep. Klopfenstein. “This legislation helps address the changing landscape of medicine by allowing highly qualified nurse practitioners to take on the critical responsibilities of board members.”
HB 969 works to address the ongoing challenges that rural healthcare facilities face with having a physician present. This legislation would require that at least one board member be a physician, physician assistant, or certified nurse practitioner.
This bill awaits a committee assignment.
Federal Judge Halts New CMS Rule on ACA Marketplaces
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
A federal judge has temporarily halted provisions of a rule from the Trump Administration meant to reshape the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces days before they were scheduled to go into effect (Source: Judge Stays Trump Administration Policies set to Shrink ACA Marketplaces, Healthcare Dive, July 17).
Spring of 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a rule expanding bare-bones catastrophic coverage and tightening verification of enrollees’ eligibility for subsidies.
Recently, a Maryland district court determined the coalition of cities (including the City of Columbus) and provider groups that filed a lawsuit challenging the rule would suffer “irreparable harm” from the policies.
The stay is a victory for insurers, given it staves off further disruption to the already destabilized ACA marketplaces. However, the relief may be short-lived, as some of the policies codified in the GOP’s “Big Beautiful Bill” will be enacted in 2028.
Last week, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio released a new data snapshot on updated Ohio enrollment in the federal ACA marketplace. The snapshot follows new analysis from the Associated Press that found that ACA marketplace enrollment has fallen more sharply in Ohio this year than in any other state.
Public Health Groups Sue to Block Federal Flavored E-Cigarette Policy
Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
A coalition of public health groups recently sued the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to block a new policy that could allow a wave of new flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches to enter the market without completing the required scientific review (Source: Public Health Groups Sue FDA Over Flavored E-Cigarette Policy, New York Times, July 14).
The lawsuit asks for a judge to set aside a policy that was announced in May and finalized just days after executives of companies pushing for it dined with President Trump at his golf club in Florida. Two days before the lunch, Reynolds American, which sent top staff members to the meeting, donated $5 million to a super PAC backed by the president, campaign finance records show.
The new policy says that the FDA will not use its enforcement authority against makers of products that have made significant progress toward an agency approval decision. In practice, the policy is expected to allow major tobacco companies to begin selling an array of new flavored tobacco pouches and e-cigarettes within a matter of months.
Until May, the FDA had authorized companies to sell vapes only in menthol or plain tobacco flavors, which are thought to be less appealing to young people. But unauthorized products with high levels of nicotine in flavors like strawberry slushie have poured in from China and are being sold illegally throughout the United States.
Ohio ACA Premiums Double in 27 Counties after Enhanced Subsidies Expire
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace premiums more than doubled in 27 Ohio counties this year after the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies, adding to the financial strain of consumers who kept their coverage.
The average monthly premium paid by marketplace consumers in the Buckeye State increased from $126 in 2025 to $233 in 2026, an increase of $107 per month, according to a new analysis from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, a nonpartisan, Columbus-based nonprofit.
The higher costs come as Ohio lost more than 161,000 marketplace enrollees over the past year — the largest percentage decline in the nation — after Congress allowed enhanced ACA subsidies to expire at the end of 2025.
Read the full article in Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Medicaid Funding Returning to Ohio’s Reproductive Health Clinics, Impacts of Yearlong Freeze Unknown
Source: Ohio Capital Journal
Now that a freeze on Medicaid funding specifically targeted at Planned Parenthood locations and clinics who provide abortion has expired, Ohio’s facilities are working to bring back services they couldn’t afford during the yearlong funding pause.
Though federal law already prohibits Medicaid dollars from being used for abortion services, clinics who also happen to provide those services were cut off from reimbursements for federal funds.
That means funding for sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, cancer screenings, birth control consultations, and primary care visits saw the most impact, according to Planned Parenthoods in the state.
“When patients don’t have access to free or covered STI testing and treatment, then they don’t include it in their appointment, so a lot of infections aren’t caught, which means they are able to more easily spread through a community,” said Lauren Blauvelt, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio.
Blauvelt said it’s still hard to know yet what the full extent of a year of cuts will be, especially compounded by other drops in funding and support over the years.
Read the full article in Ohio Capital Journal.