Advocacy Updates

Legislature Returns for the Lame Duck Session

After an extended summer recess, the Ohio legislature has returned for what is called their lame duck session. Any bills in the process will need to be passed before the end of the year. If not, the bill needs to be reintroduced in 2025. You can read about comprehensive results of the election in the following report. Generally, in Ohio, the results overwhelmingly favored Republicans. 

Ohio ACEP will be prioritizing the passage of HB 452 (more included below) before the end of the year. We will also be working with other organizations to express concerns with HB 73. The Ohio Hospital Association has crafted a call to action that Ohio ACEP members can utilize if you are inclined. 

Healthcare Workplace Safety Bill Passes House – Help Us Push This Over the Finish Line!

Ohio ACEP is very pleased that House Bill 452, which addresses workplace safety for healthcare workers, has passed the Ohio House of Representatives. Ohio ACEP is grateful to the bill sponsors, Representatives Andrea White and Rachel Baker, for their work and commitment to this bill. We are prioritizing advocating for the bill in the Senate where it has been referred to the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee.  If you have not yet contacted your Senator to request they support HB 452, please do so as soon as possible. We have made it easy to contact your Senator using this form. Your personal stories are so impactful, so if you have an example of how violence has affected you, we hope you’ll feel empowered to share that.

Highlights of the legislation include:

• Requiring hospitals to establish security plans for preventing workplace violence and managing aggressive behaviors. Healthcare workers who provide direct patient care will be part of the teams developing the plans. The plan must be based on a security risk assessment that specifically looks at high-risk areas, including the emergency departments.
• Requiring at least one employee trained in de-escalation be present at all times in the emergency department. The security plan will also address whether the emergency department needs a trained security/law enforcement officer on duty and what training those personnel shall have.
• Requiring hospitals to establish a workplace violence incident reporting system. This system will document, track and analyze reporting data to inform improvements to workplace safety.

Ohio ACEP Joins Opposition to HB 73

Legislation introduced by Representatives Jennifer Gross and Michael Loychik would require the dispensing and administration of off-label use of drugs. House Bill 73 is in response to COVID patients’ desire to use drugs not approved for the treatment of the virus. The bill would require pharmacists to dispense the drugs and would also require hospitals to grant temporary privileges to physicians treating patients. While the bill has passed the Ohio House, Ohio ACEP submitted our opposition to the Senate Health Committee, along with dozens of other healthcare groups, regulatory boards, and individuals. 

This written testimony stated that we do support off-label medications in certain medically sound situations but highlighted that the provisions of this bill go far beyond medically acceptable standards. Under this legislation, if a patient questions the medical advice and treatment plan of the physician on duty, the hospital would be required to allow non-credentialed physicians onto their medical staff temporarily. These temporary physicians would then be able to prescribe and administer off-label drugs to patients in the emergency department, and the hospital would be required to dispense these drugs. This usurps our clinical decision-making and standard of care. 

The Ohio Hospital Association has asked us to share their call to action opposing this bill.

Ohio ACEP Joins Other Healthcare Groups to Oppose HB 319

Representatives Jennifer Gross and Scott Wiggam have introduced House Bill 319, regarding protections for employees, students, and others who refuse medical interventions, including vaccines. It would generally prohibit discrimination based on someone’s vaccination status. This includes hospitals, nursing homes, and any other public places. Under the bill, unvaccinated individuals, or individuals who refuse any medical interventions covered under the bill, could not be treated any differently than those who have been vaccinated or received certain medical interventions. Entities that didn’t comply with the provisions of the bill could face civil penalties. HB 319 has been referred to the House Health Provider Services Committee. When there was talk about an opponent hearing on this legislation and possible consideration, Ohio ACEP joined a broad coalition of healthcare organizations to weigh in with our concerns. As a result, additional hearings were not scheduled before the legislature’s summer recess. However, we do expect a hearing during the lame duck.

APRN Legislation Clears Senate

Senator Kristina Roegner has introduced Senate Bill 196 regarding APRNs. The bill is lengthy but generally grants APRNs the authority to sign forms a physician can sign and make determinations a physician can make (including determining and pronouncing death), establishes certain prescribing protocols for pharmacists, and makes other scope of practice expansions.  The bill does, however, retain the requirement that APRNs have a collaboration agreement with physicians. Senator Roegner indicated in testimony that the OSMA worked closely with her to review the provisions included in the bill. The Senate Health Committee favorably reported the bill on June 26, 2024, and it passed the full Senate later that day by a vote of 30-1. This legislation is pending in the Ohio House, where it is expected to get movement during the lame duck session.

Proposed CMHA Legislation Amended, Passes Senate

Senate Bill 60, regarding the creation of the new certified mental health assistants (CMHA) profession, passed out of the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee and was passed by the full Senate by a vote of 20-11 (four Republicans joined all Democrats in voting no) on June 26, 2024. It did undergo considerable changes in committee before passing, and some of the more significant ones were the removal of CMHA’s authority to pink slip patients and removal of a provision allowing the Medical Board to establish additional rules regarding CMHAs' scope of practice. It also reinserts language with basic standards for the CMHA curriculum and increases the number of hours that their supervising physician must be available for direct communication. The Ohio State Medical Association worked on this language with the sponsor and noted that it took their position on the bill to neutral. Because the OSMA has moved to neutral, this is legislation that could move in the lame duck session.

New Bill Introductions

Two new bills of concern to Ohio ACEP were introduced in October. Because we are nearing the end of this General Assembly, the chance of these bills moving is slim, but we can expect them to be reintroduced next year.

House Bill 670 is sponsored by Representatives Rachel Baker and Nick Santucci. This one regarding physician assistants would change the name of the profession to physician associate, which is a push by the PA’s national association.  Ohio ACEP and other medical organizations are opposed to this title change.

House Bill 672 is sponsored by Representatives Tim Barhorst and Nick Santucci and would create a new license for naturopathic medicine. Under the proposal, they would have prescriptive authority with a formulary developed by the Medical Board. They would need to work collaboratively with a physician for only 12 months before independently prescribing. They would be licensed under the Medical Board.

The bill defines "Naturopathic medicine" to mean: a system of primary health care that uses patient education, naturopathic therapies, and therapeutic substances for any of the following:

(1) The prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human health conditions, injury, and disease;

(2) The promotion or restoration of health;

(3) The support and stimulation of a patient's inherent self-healing processes.

Want to Learn More?

If you’re interested in viewing the status of all of the bills Ohio ACEP is tracking, you can find the list here.