Phase 1B Vaccine Announced

Ohioans age 80 years and older will be prioritized in the next phase of Ohio’s COVID-19 vaccination program that will begin January 19. There are about 420,000 Ohioans in this age group. Ohio is expected to receive 100,000 doses during the first week of distribution to Phase 1B.

Vaccines for Phase 1B will be administered by physicians, local health departments, hospitals, federally qualified health centers, in-home health service providers, and some retail pharmacies. As of yesterday, the Ohio Department of Health has approximately 1,700 providers registered to distribute vaccines. 

Gov. Mike DeWine anticipates vaccinations will be available to Ohioans 75 years of age and older beginning Monday, January 25. The following week, vaccinations will be available to those 65 years of age and older.

The week of January 25 will also include vaccinations for Ohioans with severe congenital, developmental, or early onset medical disorders. Additional details about distribution for this group will be forthcoming.

Vaccinations for Ohio school personnel will be available during the week of February 1.

The entire Phase 1B includes about 2.2 million people. Phase 1A, which is currently underway, includes approximately 1 million Ohioans. According to the vaccine dashboard, 221,302 vaccines have been administered as of noon today. Ohio has 9.1 million adults. Because the availability of the vaccine remains limited in Ohio and across the country, Ohio is taking a phased approach that prioritizes the most vulnerable citizens, those in the health care field, and school staff members.

All Counties Remain at High Incidence Level

All of Ohio’s 88 counties have a level of spread that is at least three times more than what the CDC considers high incidence. In addition, Ohio remains mostly red on the state public health advisory map with 84 of the 88 counties at Level 3/Red this week. The designation means there is a public emergency for increased exposure and spread and that people should exercise a high degree of caution.

December was Ohio’s worst month for COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths: 244,369 cases; 8,389 hospitalizations; and 1,985 deaths.

SMBO Rules Filed 

The State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) filed proposed rules with the Common Sense Initiative Office. A state rule-making agency may propose to adopt a new rule, amend or rescind an existing rule, or propose to continue a rule without any changes. State agencies are required to draft rules in collaboration with stakeholders, assess and justify any adverse impact on the business community, and provide an opportunity for the affected public to provide input on the proposed rules.

The Business Impact Analysis for the proposed rules discusses the purpose of the rule and identifies the nature of the adverse impact on licensees. The Common Sense Initiative review most be completed before the rules can begin the formal rule-making process through the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review.  

Hearing Rules

4731-13-01 Representatives; appearances - changes to add chapters 4759 and 4761 to rule and to clarify what is needed for an attorney withdrawal notice.

4731-13-03 Authority and duties of hearing examiners – proposed change to allow hearing via live videoconference upon motion of party or hearing examiner

4731-13-07.1 Form and page limitations for briefs and memoranda – amend to correct minor error and to clarify that memoranda filed in contravention of the rule will be permitted but pages beyond fifteen will not be considered 

4731-13-08 Filing – amend to add a filing option through an electronic filing system implemented by the board

4731-13-09 Service – amend to add a service alternative through any electronic filing system utilized by the board

4731-13-13 Subpoenas for purposes of hearings – amend to revise the compliance date deadline to put in accordance with the document exchange schedule set by the hearing examiner

4731-13-15 Reports and recommendations – amend to change deadline for requests to address from 5 days to 7 days before board meeting consideration 

4731-13-17 Settlements, dismissals, and voluntary surrenders – amend to accurately reflect the timing of the signature by the enforcement attorney or assigned assistant attorney general

4731-13-33 “Physicians’ Desk Reference” – amend to allow usage of the US National Library of Medicine at medlineplus.gov

4731-13-36 Disciplinary actions – amend to add chapters 4759 and 4761 to rule

Provide comments by January 22 to both of the following:

Medical Board
Judith.rodriguez@med.ohio.gov

AND

Common Sense Initiative Office
CSIPublicComments@governor.ohio.gov

State Accepting Nominations for Rare Disease Council

Legislation to establish the Rare Disease Advisory Council was signed into law December 21. This council will give rare disease advocates throughout the state an opportunity to use their voices to make positive change in the rare disease community. Gov. Mike DeWine will be making appointments to the council soon. If you are interested in applying, please do so here and be sure to inform Executive Director Matt Harney, at mattharney@OhioDO.org.

Separately, the Ohio Rare Action Network is hosting a Virtual Rare Disease Day, February 23, for patients, families, caregivers and other rare disease community members.

New General Assembly Sworn In

The 134th Ohio General Assembly convened for the first time on Monday, January 4. It marks the start of the new two-year session.

Both houses conducted swearing-in ceremonies with newly-elected Senate President Matt Huffman taking his oath of office remotely due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. The Senate leadership roster includes:

Senate President
Matt Huffman (R-Lima)

President Pro Tempore
Jay Hottinger (R-Newark)

Majority Floor Leader
Kirk Schuring (R-Canton)

Majority Whip
Rob McColley (R-Napoleon)

Minority Leader
Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights)

Assistant Minority Leader
Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati)

Minority Whip
Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood)

Assistant Minority Whip
Tina Maharath (D-Canal Winchester).

The Ohio House of Representatives leadership includes:

Speaker
Bob Cupp (R-Lima)

Speaker Pro Tempore
Tim Ginter (R-Salem)

Majority Floor Leader
Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati)

Assistant Majority Floor Leader
Rick Carfagna (R-Genoa Twp.)

Majority Whip
Don Jones (R-Freeport) 

Assistant Majority Whip
Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison)

Minority Leader
Emilia Sykes (D-Akron)

Assistant Minority Leader
Kristin Boggs (D-Columbus)

Minority Whip
Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo)

Assistant Minority Whip
Rich Brown (D-Canal Winchester)

ODM Seeks Physicians for New Credentialing Committee

The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) is establishing a centralized credentialing program that will launch soon. For Medicaid providers, this will reduce the administrative burden of the current process where they must credential separately for each managed care organization (MCO) in order to be a contracted network provider. Once ODM launches the centralized credentialing initiative, all providers will go through ODM for credentialing and will not engage in separate processes with each MCO.

ODM is identifying individual health care providers to serve on the Credentialing Committee. They are specifically looking for a general surgeon, psychiatrist, substance use disorder practitioner, and pain management physician. Requirements and required submission materials are here.

If interested, contact Executive Director Matt Harney at mattharney@OhioDO.org.

#ThisIsOurShot

Since physicians are among the most trusted voices when it comes to health information, you play an important role to combat vaccine hesitancy. Leading by example is one way to help educate Ohioans about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Many physicians are posting this historic moment on social media with the hashtag #ThisIsOurShot, with the hope to inspire and reassure others that the vaccine is safe and necessary to eventually achieve herd immunity.

Send us your vaccination photo and we’ll share it on OOA social media accounts. Email it to cmarkino@OhioDO.org.

Call for Abstracts

January 31 is the deadline to submit abstracts for the Ohio Osteopathic Symposium Virtual Research Competition.

The annual contest will be structured very differently from prior competitions so please review the guidelines and process carefully prior to submitting an abstract. For example, there is only one category: biomedical/clinical research. But in good news, there are still cash prizes!