02/19/2025

OSMA Statehouse Legislative Update

Activity has started to pick up at the Ohio Statehouse with the new general assembly in full swing. Alongside the state budget bill, several familiar bills have been reintroduced. The OSMA Advocacy team has been busy working with legislators on the following and other issues:

• State Budget:
  The budget bill (HB 96) makes operating appropriations for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2027. This legislation was introduced last week, following Governor DeWine releasing his executive version of the budget at the beginning of the month. The budget process in both chambers of the legislature will extend from this point until the June 30 deadline, by which it must be passed through both the House and Senate and sent back to the governor for signature.
  
  OSMA will be following along in the budget process closely to ensure important health care provisions remain intact and to take advantage of any opportunity to advocate for Ohio physicians and their patients. We are thankful to Governor DeWine for his critical focus on mental health in the budget plan, including by funding Ohio’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline and mobile mental health crisis services in every county, and addressing the lack of beds in state psychiatric hospitals. Additionally, OSMA is grateful that the budget as introduced based on Gov. DeWine’s plan includes additional funding for the Ohio Physician Loan Repayment Program. We will advocate for these provisions to remain in the bill during deliberations in the legislature.
  
  

• Biomarker Testing:
  HB 8 is a reintroduced version of legislation previously supported by OSMA which would require insurers to cover biomarker testing when medically appropriate. Biomarker testing is increasingly used in diagnosis and treatment of a variety of conditions, including cancer. Insurance coverage would, for example, help reduce treatment costs and improve quality of life for Ohioans diagnosed with cancer.
  
  

• Prostate Cancer Screenings:
  HB 33 was also previously supported by OSMA. This legislation would require health benefit plans to provide coverage for all expenses associated with prostate cancer screenings (defined as any evidence-based preventive care or screening procedure performed for the purpose of identifying prostate cancer, including prostate-specific antigen tests and digital rectal examination) for covered persons who are male, at least forty years of age, and are at high risk of developing prostate cancer.
  
  

• Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists – Scope of Practice:
  HB 52 is another familiar issue recently reintroduced in the Ohio House. This legislation would revise the scope of practice of certified registered nurse anesthetists in Ohio by removing the requirement that CRNAs be supervised by a physician, and instead replace this with language requiring them to “consult with” a physician. HB 52 would erase the compromise language OSMA worked for years on regarding the scope of CRNAs, which went into effect in 2020. It reverts back to an expanded scope of practice similar to what was originally proposed before said compromise, including granting CRNAs hospital-based prescriptive authority. Further, the bill would allow for CRNAs to direct other individuals to perform certain clinical and patient care-related tasks, even if the CRNA is not present on-site where the tasks are to be performed. OSMA has serious concerns about these proposed changes, including risks to patient safety.
  
  

• Traumatic Brain Injuries:
  OSMA supported the previous version of HB 91 last year. This legislation would appropriate funds to the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Agency to establish and support the Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Accelerator Pilot Program. The bill specifies that the program’s aim is threefold: to advance scientific research about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), to develop TBI treatments, and to promote Ohio as a TBI research biohub.
  
  

• Anti-Vaccine Legislation:
  As predicted, legislators have reintroduced a piece of legislation (HB 112) that is hostile to vaccination and other infectious disease prevention measures and interventions. OSMA and a large coalition of healthcare and business groups worked together in opposition to this legislation last cycle. HB 112 would prohibit discrimination against an individual for the refusal of certain medical interventions for reasons of conscience, including religious convictions. This bill is mainly targeted at vaccinations, and specifically includes vaccine requirements for college admission and employment. It would also, for example, prevent health facilities from implementing policies such as those that require readily-accepted vaccines in the clinical environment (like tuberculosis) or require unvaccinated employees to wear a mask during flu season in certain areas of a hospital. We remain gravely concerned about this proposal due to the major risks it presents to the health and well-being of Ohioans.
  
  

• Sun Lamp Tanning Ban for Those Under Age 16:
  Physician and State Senator Dr. Terry Johnson has reintroduced legislation which would prohibit use of sun lamp indoor tanning services by individuals under age 16 in Ohio. For individuals aged 16-17, SB 25 would require that parental/legal guardian consent be provided each time the individual seeks to use the services and additionally, require that the parent/legal guardian be present for the duration of each session during which services are rendered. OSMA has advocated for stricter prohibitions on minors using tanning services for years as part of a partnership with the Ohio Dermatological Association. We hope to see progress made on this initiative during this cycle.
  
  

• Optometry - Scope of Practice:
  Another familiar scope of practice proposal has been reintroduced as SB 36. This legislation would alter the scope of practice of Ohio optometrists by allowing them to perform certain surgical procedures. OSMA has worked in cooperation with the Ohio Ophthalmological Society (OOS) in opposition to this issue. We will continue to emphasize to elected officials that optometrists do not receive the extensive medical education and training that is necessary in order to ensure patient safety and to facilitate high-quality outcomes of surgery.

Stay tuned for updates as OSMA priority legislation is expected to be introduced within the next several weeks!