Governor Expands COVID-19 Vaccination Eligibility

Ohioans age 40 and over as well as those with cancer, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, COPD or who are obese will be eligible for vaccination starting today. Effective Monday, March 29, all Ohioans age 16 and older will be vaccine eligible. Those age 16 and 17 will receive the Pfizer vaccine.

With Phase 1E (cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, and obesity) and Phase 2C (age 40+), 1.6 million more Ohioans will have access to the vaccine. 

The eight-week mass vaccination clinic at Cleveland State (CSU), which opened this week, will ultimately bring vaccine doses to 210,000 people in Ohio. Similar to mass vaccination sites in other states, the site will incrementally increase the number of vaccines administered, and up to 6,000 doses per day are expected to be available by next week.  The CSU Wolstein Center location was recommended by Ohio and selected by the Federal Emergency Management Agency  (FEMA) based on its proximity to a large number of Ohio’s high-risk citizens and medically underserved populations. To ensure equitable access to the vaccine for underserved and socially vulnerable populations, more than 300 local community groups are partnering with the state to help schedule appointments for those who face vaccination barriers.

Two pop-up vaccination clinics opened this week in Columbus and Cincinnati. These sites, sponsored by the state, are open 3-4 days for first doses and then re-open three weeks later for second dose clinics.

Fifteen mass vaccination sites will open regionally across Ohio in coming weeks. They will be located in Akron, Athens, Chillicothe, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Lima, Mansfield, Marietta, Maumee, Steubenville, Tallmadge, Wilmington, Youngstown, and Zanesville.

More Counties Drop to Orange

As COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations continue to decline across Ohio, 14 counties are dropping a level this week on the color-coded Public Health Advisory map.

Six counties went from Level 3/Red to Level 2/Orange as their cases per capita dropped below 100 over two weeks. Four counties moved from Orange to Level 1/Yellow because their cases per capita dropped to below 50.

All totaled there are now five yellow counties: Auglaize, Meigs, Mercer, Shelby, Vinton; and 22 orange counties: Adams, Allen, Ashtabula, Darke, Fayette, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Knox, Monroe, Morgan, Morrow, Noble, Preble, Putnam, Tuscarawas, Van Wert, Wayne, Williams. The remainder of Ohio’s 88 counties are at red level. There aren’t any Level 4/Purple counties.

Ohio’s case rate continues to trend down. For March 3-16, the statewide average is 143.8 cases  per 100,000 population.

Legislative Update

HB 135 was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives Health Committee this week. The bill prohibits the practice where insurers don’t count third-party payments – usually by a drug manufacturer – toward a patient’s cost-sharing requirements.

A pharmacy benefit manager industry group offered opponent testimony saying adopting the bill would lead to higher drug prices. The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association testified that drugmakers use such coupons to subvert the negotiating ability of PBMs and payers and push patients toward costlier medications. Lawmakers said the PBM and health plan are both in a better position to negotiate cost increases than the patient.

Last week, the committee heard testimony from patients and advocates—including the OOA—in support of the bill to require health insurers to apply amounts paid by or on behalf of covered individuals toward cost-sharing requirements.

SB 6, which provides for Ohio to enter into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, was approved by the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday. The bill seeks to create an expedited path for physicians to practice in multiple states.

It’s back! HB 221 was introduced this week. Called the Better Access, Better Care Act by its sponsors, the bill is last session’s HB 177, the APRN scope of practice legislation. It has not yet been assigned to a committee, but is expected to be referred to the Health Committee.

Task Force to Address Infant Mortality

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the creation of the statewide Eliminating Disparities in Infant Mortality Task Force this week.  

In December 2020, DeWine announced the formation of the committee tasked with:

• Working with local, state, and national leaders to develop a statewide shared vision and strategy for reducing infant mortality rates and eliminating racial disparities by 2030.
• Creating actionable recommendations for interventions, performance and quality improvement, data collection, and policies.
• Advising the Governor's Children's Initiative on ways to improve Ohio’s investments and strategies to address racial inequalities in birth outcomes.

Members of the Task Force include professionals in medicine, local and state government, parents, and others. This group of experts will hear personal testimonies, explore barriers Ohioans are facing, and recommend solutions that help develop new action steps for the state.

OOPAC Challenge Underway

The annual OOPAC Challenge pits OOA’s ten district academies against each other for fundraising supremacy, calculated in the aggregate but also per capita by district. The contributions fund the Ohio Osteopathic Political Action Committee—also known as OOPAC.

OOPAC works exclusively for your interests and protects your ability to practice medicine and lead the team approach to health care. The primary goal is to help shape health care policy by educating legislators about health care issues and explaining how proposed legislation will affect patients and communities. A strong OOPAC helps to open doors and strengthen the osteopathic voice at the Ohio Statehouse. 

Make your contribution online and help your district meet the challenge!

Happy Match Day!

Today is Match Day for the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Medical school students and graduates across the country and around the world will learn in which US residency program they will train for the next 3-7 years.

On Monday, applicants learned if they  matched to a training program. Unmatched applicants participated in the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), Monday through Thursday, to apply for positions that did not fill when the matching algorithm was processed.

More than 42,000 resident physician applicants participated in the 2021 Match.

New residents are invited to use this form to update the OOA with their training institution and specialty.