House Approves Anti-Vaccination Amendment

While HB 248, the far-reaching legislation that would prohibit employers and others from mandating vaccines, continues to be debated in the House Health Committee, a similar anti-vaccination amendment was approved when it was tacked on to an unrelated bill that awards federal coronavirus relief funds.

The amendment to SB 111 prohibits a private or public entity from doing either of the following:

• Requiring an individual to receive a vaccine that is not yet fully approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration;
• Requiring an individual who has not received such a vaccine to engage in or refrain from engaging in activities or precautions that differ from those of an individual who has elected to receive such a vaccine.

The bill now goes back to the Senate to either concur or refuse the House amendment. 

SB 113, which allows for fireworks discharge on specified holidays, is on its way to Gov. Mike DeWine. The bill was approved by the House Commerce and Labor Committee on Wednesday and then passed the House, 61-34, and received Senate concurrence the next day.

As a member of the Ohio Fireworks Safety Coalition, a statewide organization with more than 50 members, the OOA signed on to a letter opposing SB 113. The letter to members of the Commerce and Labor Committee read in part:

Our concerns are straightforward: legalization of discharge will lead to an increase in fireworks-related injuries, property damage, and fatalities. Fireworks are inherently dangerous, and a statewide prohibition sends a clear message to Ohioans regarding these dangers. Like speed limits and distracted driving, we know that some Ohioans disregard the law and discharge fireworks anyway. This is unfortunate as it puts everyone nearby at risk.

Local governments could restrict dates and times or impose a full ban on fireworks under the law. The bill includes other safety measures:

• Requires a licensed wholesaler, manufacturer, or retailer who is selling consumer grade fireworks to have safety glasses available for free or at a nominal charge.
• Requires licensed fireworks wholesalers, manufacturers, and retailers to distribute a safety pamphlet with certain minimum information to each consumer purchaser of fireworks.
• Prohibits discharging fireworks while in possession of, or under the influence of, alcohol or a controlled substance, or on the property of another without the property owner’s permission.
• Imposes a fee on sales to fund firefighter training programs.

SB 6 was approved by the House, 93-0. It enters Ohio into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact to ease the licensing process for physicians seeking to practice in more than one state. The Senate concurred with House amendments made during committee and the Governor is expected to sign the bill.

HB 193 was approved by the House, 91-0. It generally limits pharmacist dispensing of schedule II controlled substances to those prescribed electronically, rather than in writing or electronically as under current law. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

The bill maintains a current law provision allowing–in emergency situations–for schedule II controlled substances to be dispensed upon oral prescriptions when the conditions established in federal law are satisfied. It also provides exceptions to allow a pharmacist to dispense upon a written prescription if/when:

• there are technology problems;
• the prescription is issued for a nursing home resident or hospice care patient;
• the prescriber is employed by or under contract with the same entity that operates the pharmacy;
• the prescriber determines that an electronic prescription cannot be issued in a timely manner and the patient’s medical condition is at risk; or
• the prescriber issues per year not more than 50 prescriptions for schedule II controlled substances.

DeWine signed two health-related bills into law this week:

SB 21 requires the Board of Emergency Medical, Fire, and Transportation Services to adopt guidelines for the assessment, triage, and transport of stroke patients to hospitals. It also requires emergency service organizations to establish stroke protocols and provide training based on the board’s guidelines.

SB 42 establishes the second week of November as Ohio Diabetes Awareness-Heart Connection Week to raise public awareness about the connection between diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

In addition, SB 22 went into effect this week. The new law curbs the authority of the Ohio Department of Health director and allows legislators to rescind public health orders. In March, DeWine vetoed the bill, which was then overridden by the legislature.

COVID-19 Updates

As of this afternoon, 47.41% in Ohio have started the vaccine process. That equates to more than 5.54 million Ohioans. Over 5.1 million, or 43.71%, have completed the vaccination series.

The Vax-A-Million lottery concluded this week. For the fifth and final drawing, 3,469,542 vaccinated adults entered for a chance to win $1 million, and 154,889 vaccinated youth entered for a chance to win a college scholarship. This is an increase of 41,028 adult entries and 4,702 youth entries over last week.

Approximately 231,000 Ohioans between 12 and 17 years old have started the vaccination process. The state is working to make sure students have the opportunity to get their COVID-19 vaccine before school begins in the fall. Statewide efforts include: 

• Outreach to schools. Schools have had multiple opportunities to partner with providers and offer vaccination clinics on-site for students. A survey of school districts across the state showed us that more than 200 districts plan to offer vaccination opportunities on-site.
• Outreach through community organizations. Ohio has partnered with all Boys and Girls Clubs across the state to serve as vaccination sites. In addition, 67 local providers will be hosting vaccination clinics in partnership with summer food service programs for families.
• Outreach through local providers. Ohio is working with pediatricians and family doctors to encourage them to become providers so that students can get the COVID-19 vaccine from their own doctors. Nearly 500 pediatric and family medicine offices are currently offering vaccinations. To increase awareness and encourage vaccinations, child-serving state agencies are distributing vaccine information to families and others in their communities.
• Targeted, focused outreach to underserved areas. To increase access for students in underserved areas, Ohio will assist in expanding school-based healthcare services and increase the number of community-based health workers in high-need areas. Ohio will also offer vaccinations at all Job and Family Services offices that serve customers.

During his weekly briefing, Gov. Mike DeWine noted that even though Ohio’s COVID-19 case numbers have been dropping, approximately 100 Ohioans a week are dying from the virus, and deaths are shifting to a younger age group. During the winter surge, more than half of the people who died from COVID-19 in Ohio were 80 or older. Today, Ohioans aged 40 to 79 make up more than 65% of deaths.

Medicaid Plans Increase Vaccination Reimbursement

Gov. Mike DeWine has challenged all of Ohio’s Medicaid managed care plans to get more Medicaid members vaccinated. As a result, the Medicaid and MyCare plans have increased the payment to providers from $38 to $100 per COVID-19 vaccination.

The gap between the vaccination rate of the general public and that of Medicaid recipients is significant: 45% of Ohioans overall vs. 24% of Medicaid members (data as of May 24). Even though the vaccine is free to everyone, Medicaid patients often face other barriers such as lack of transportation, inflexible work schedules, and no ability to make appointments online.

Providers offering on-the-spot vaccinations to patients who are in their offices for other reasons is very effective, but can also disrupt workflow due to patient volume and additional office space needed for the 15-minute observation post vaccination. Therefore, through August 15, Ohio’s Medicaid managed care plans will pay providers $100 per vaccination instead of the standard $38.

In other news, the Ohio Department of Medicaid has redesigned its website. It is user friendly, organized based on the interests of the various communities (beneficiaries, providers, stakeholders), and built for mobile devices, smartphones, and desktop viewing.

Young Students Win Osteopathic Medical Award

Six middle school and high school students received the Osteopathic Medical Award at the 73rd Annual State Science Day. Projects were judged in two divisions, 7th-9th grade and 10th-12th grade. The awards, which carry a total of $650 in cash prizes, are supported jointly by the OOA and Ohio Osteopathic Foundation.

The winning projects were:

A novel machine learning approach for the early detection of Parkinson’s Disease using acoustic measures

Identification of Novel Genetic Biomarkers with Prognostic Utility in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Vaccines vs. Herd Immunity

Developing COVID-19 Diagnostic Programs Using Artificial Intelligence with Chest X-ray Data

The cGAS-STING Pathway in Rhabdomyosarcoma and Osteosarcoma

The Effects Bacteria have on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Presented in the Lungs

State Science Day, sponsored annually by the Ohio Academy of Science, is the pinnacle of 5th-12th grade student originated, inquiry-based science education. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the live event was converted to an online competition for the second consecutive year.

See the list of the Osteopathic Medical Award winners.

OOA Partners to Produce Simply CME

The OOA has partnered with five other state osteopathic associations (Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Oregon, and Washington) to develop a unique virtual education series. Simply CME are one-day, eight-credit programs that will be offered periodically. Sessions are set this year for August 21 and November 13.

Each will be presented live on the date noted, but registrants can view some or all presentations on-demand. Simply CME is ideal for busy physicians not wanting to commit a whole day or weekend.

Featuring a variety of topics, physicians can earn AOA or AMA CME credit. Purchase now and have up to 45 days after the event to view the program.

Your registration goes straight to the OOA, supporting our services on your behalf! Partnering with other state associations helps us provide you with needed CME and allows you to experience educational programming from a variety of speakers from around the nation.

Registration is now open for the August 21 program. Details are here.

Renew Your License by July 1

Physicians who have licenses that expires during the COVID-19 state of emergency have until July 1 to renew their license. Currently, there are 601 DOs that had their licenses extended to July 1 that need to renew asap!

Retired physicians may apply for emeritus registration. To be eligible for emeritus status, a physician must not have been the subject of disciplinary action in Ohio resulting in the revocation, suspension, probation, reprimand, or any other limitation. To apply, make a note on your registration form or send a letter to the Board.