03/23/2023

OSMA Comments on Federal Prior Authorization Rules

March 23, 2023 – Prior Authorization reform is OSMA’s top advocacy issue in 2023 and 2024. In addition to advocating for major legislative reforms at the state level that will impact commercial and Medicaid plans, we have also been involved in initiatives at the federal level that will impact Medicare advantage plans.

03/02/2023

OSMA Needs Your Help—New Prior Authorization Legislation to Be Introduced

March 2, 2023 – The goal of this legislation, which will be sponsored by Rep. Kevin Miller (R-Newark), is to create a “gold card” system for prior authorization, giving physicians a way to “earn” their way out of prior authorization requirements by demonstrating a high prior authorization success rate. Similar legislation was recently passed and enacted in the state of Texas.

02/20/2023

Public Health Emergency Expiration—Reminders

February 20, 2023 – It has been announced that the PHE will be extended through May 11, at which point it will permanently expire, marking the end of PHE extensions. Because the PHE has been in place for nearly three years, it can be difficult to remember which rules existed before then, and which have been temporary. Here are a few highlights of what is expected to change.

02/16/2023

OSMA Physicians & Staff Advocate for Medicare Funding & Prior Authorization Reform in D.C.

February 16, 2023 – Several OSMA physicians joined your OSMA Government Relations team in D.C. to participate in the American Medical Association’s National Advocacy Conference (NAC).

02/16/2023

Ohio’s New Telehealth Rules Effective Feb. 28—What to Know

February 16, 2023 – Physicians across Ohio have continued to embrace remote healthcare services. After a lengthy rule promulgation process, including our member feedback and input from OSMA, the Board has finalized new telehealth rules, which will become effective this month.

02/15/2023

OSMA Joins National Effort to Reform Prior Authorization in Medicare Advantage Plans

February 15, 2023 – While we focus on prior authorization reform in Ohio that will impact commercial and Medicaid plans, Medicare Advantage plans are regulated federally and therefore reforms must occur through congressional legislative action or rulemaking by CMS. In the letter, we urged CMS to focus on the following...

01/26/2023

OSMA's Top Advocacy Priorities for 2023

January 26, 2023 – We anticipate several familiar issues to remain major OSMA advocacy priorities this year, and are always monitoring the legislative and regulatory spaces for new and emerging topics that arise throughout the year. Here’s our current advocacy forecast...

01/25/2023

FTC Releases Draft Rule Regarding Non-Compete Agreements

January 25, 2023 – The rule applies to all existing and future non-compete agreements between employers and employees. It also includes non-competes with independent contractors. It would nullify nearly every non-compete agreement for our physician owned practices and prohibit those going forward.

01/02/2023

HHS Proposes to Standardize Electronic Health Care Attachments Transactions & Electronic Signature Process

January 2, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the following information on Dec. 19 along with a fact sheet and full press release.

12/21/2022

OSMA Joins Public Health Advocates Urging the Governor to Veto H.B. 513

December 21, 2022 – H.B. 513 passed in the Ohio legislature last week, which would remove all local control over tobacco policies including implementing local tobacco retail licensure programs, conducting local compliance to ensure retailers are not selling to kids, and furthering policies to end the sale of flavored tobacco products.

12/15/2022

Lame Duck Legislative Update

December 15, 2022 – OSMA is proud to represent you and advocate on your behalf. Your OSMA Advocacy team has experienced a whirlwind of activity at the Statehouse after the election, and has been carefully monitoring what has happened during the lame duck legislative session.

12/15/2022

OSMA Continues Advocacy Push to Avert 4.5% Cut to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

December 15, 2022 – Last week, OSMA joined the AMA—and every other state medical society in the country—signing a letter to Congress urging them to take action before the end of the year to avert the projected 4.5% cut to the 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

12/13/2022

Recent Legal Actions to Note

December 13, 2022 – OSMA joined the Ohio Hospital Association in filing an amicus brief in the Ohio Supreme Court to support the decision of Ohio’s 10th District Court of Appeals that when a medical malpractice claim is barred by Ohio’s statute of repose, that any loss of consortium claim arising out of that malpractice claim is also barred.

11/10/2022

OSMA’s 2022 Midterm General Election Recap

November 10, 2022 – After a whirlwind midterm election day, millions of Ohio voters have made their voices heard. Overall, the candidates endorsed by the Ohio State Medical Association Political Action Committee (OSMAPAC) prevailed in the majority of races for various statewide offices. Ohio also set a record as far as early and absentee voting in a midterm election - a total of 1,392,767 votes were cast through either in-person early voting or returned absentee ballots as of the end of early voting on Monday.

11/10/2022

OSMA Joins AMA, Other Organizations in Opposition to Federal Allied Practitioner Scope of Practice Legislation

November 10, 2022 – OSMA was among dozens of national and state medical societies and associations that signed an opposition letter, expressing concerns that this bill would negatively impact the quality of care received by Medicare and Medicaid patients.

10/26/2022

Sean McCullough Joins OSMA Advocacy Team, Monica Hueckel Promoted

October 26, 2022 – Sean joins our team as our new Director of Policy and Legal Counsel. OSMA has also promoted Monica Hueckel, who has been with OSMA for more than eight years, to the role of Vice President of Advocacy.

10/20/2022

Ohio Medicaid Changes Coming: Important Updates & Training Reminders

October 20, 2022 – The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) is in the process of major administrative and program updates and changes. Many of these will directly impact physician practices. Earlier this week, ODM provided the following information and training opportunities to ensure you are up-to-date on what you need to do and know.

10/20/2022

Advocacy Update: Election Day is Approaching—and Know What’s in Store for the Rest of 2022

October 20, 2022 – Early voting began last week for the upcoming general election on Tuesday, November 8. Many important races will feature on your Ohio ballot this year, including decisions for U.S. Senate, Congress, state House and Senate and Ohio Supreme Court. Additionally, Ohioans will elect candidates for the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.

10/19/2022

October's Medical Board Meeting Recap

October 19, 2022 – At its regularly scheduled Board meeting on October 12, the Board adopted three additional offenses to its list of disqualifying offenses for application for licensure.

09/27/2022

Key Federal Legislation Update: Take Action

Sept 27, 2022 – OSMA wants to ensure Ohio physicians are aware of the following pending issues in Congress, which are highly impactful to the practice of medicine. Physicians are encouraged to reach out to their elected officials in D.C. to urge support for these federal legislative proposals using these provided links.

09/21/2022

Update on Legal Action Related to Ohio’s Six-Week Abortion Ban

Sept 21, 2022 – On September 14, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins ruled that the state Constitution might protect the right to an abortion in Ohio, meaning temporarily, that Ohio’s law returns to 22 weeks as it was prior to the implementation of Ohio’s Heartbeat Bill earlier this summer. The judge has now indicated further plans...

09/13/2022

Register for our Advocacy Boot Camp for Physicians on Oct. 6!

Sept 13, 2022 – Plan to attend this virtual event to address what we hear from physicians every week...how to become more involved in the advocacy process.

08/24/2022

CMS Releases Revised Surprise Billing Rules & Clarifies Processes

Aug 24, 2022 – On August 19, CMS announced several updates to the federal No Surprises Act implementation. These rules relate to those covered by insurance plans regulated by the federal government.

08/04/2022

Advocacy Update: Responding to Legislative Initiatives Resulting from Supreme Court Decision on Abortion

Aug 4, 2022 – Our Government Relations team and OSMA leadership wanted to reaffirm for you that OSMA is focusing our efforts on legislative initiatives that are currently pending (or may be forthcoming in the future) as a result of the Dobbs decision.

08/02/2022

Reminder: Electronic Prescriptions

Aug 2, 2022 – Effective September 21, schedule II controlled substances must be dispensed upon an electronic prescription. Exceptions for oral or written prescriptions are permitted in the following circumstances.

07/21/2022

Webinar on Advocating for Reforms to Medicare Physician Payment

July 21, 2022 – Last month OSMA informed members about a coalition of more than 120 state medical and national specialty societies to define and develop goals to reform Medicare physician payment. Join AMA's upcoming webinar on Wednesday, July 27 to review what the coalition will be calling on Congress to do to improve the Medicare physician payment system.

07/20/2022

Reminder: CTR physician survey requirement

July 20, 2022 – To remain in compliance with Ohio law, physicians with a CTR must respond to the 2022 survey even if they have not made any recommendations. All responses must be received by July 31, 2022.

07/14/2022

Guidance on Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Implementation

July 14, 2022 – The State Medical Board of Ohio provided guidance this week regarding the rollout of Ohio’s participation in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. Implementation date is scheduled for August 2.

07/14/2022

CMS Clarifies EMTALA Requirements Preempt State Laws

July 14, 2022 – Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Becerra sent a letter to all hospitals and health care providers reminding them of their obligation to comply with Emergency medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).

07/13/2022

New Opportunities for Member Participation

July 13, 2022 – We are often asked by our OSMA members how they can individually become more involved in OSMA and impact health policy in Ohio. In response, we have recently revised and expanded ways to participate.

06/28/2022

OSMA Major Insurance Reform Initiative

The OSMA advocacy team has spent more than a year preparing to embark on a major legislative initiative dealing with the continued issues Ohio physicians are facing related to prior authorization. The “prior authorization gold card” legislation will further streamline the prior authorization process and remove some of these “roadblocks” so physicians and medical staff can focus more on patient care. OSMA is excited about this endeavor and we will need continued physician input and participation as this process kicks off and gets underway.

06/23/2022

AMA Celebrates 175 Years

June 22, 2022 – Our national partner contributing to OSMA's success, the American Medical Association (AMA), marked their 175th anniversary of its founding in May 2022.

06/14/2022

OSMA's Ohio Legislature Update

June 14, 2022 – The Ohio Legislature has recessed for the summer, but the last several weeks of hearings and session were quite busy for OSMA’s Advocacy team. OSMA has been actively advocating on behalf of Ohio physicians in ongoing deliberations regarding several issues, most recently including the following...

06/14/2022

June's Medical Board Meeting Recap

June 14, 2022 – Get the updates from the regularly scheduled Board meeting on June 8, including issues concerning proposed telehealth rules and the Medical Marijuana Expert Review's recent recommendation.

06/13/2022

Amicus Brief Filed on Federal PREP Act

June 13, 2022 – OSMA, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Medical Association (AMA), is participating in an amicus brief in the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on the question of whether the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (the PREP Act) provides immunity from liability in a wrongful death claim against an assisted living facility for failing to take appropriate countermeasures during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

06/02/2022

OSMA Joins National Coalition to Develop Characteristics of a Rational Medicare Physician Payment System

June 2, 2022 – More than 120 other medical organizations have also endorsed a framework for Medicare payment reform. This is an early step in the efforts to develop consensus on policy recommendations that will reshape the payment system to work better for patients and physicians—and hopefully end the annual advocacy exercise of stopping impending payment cuts.

05/19/2022

Federal Advocacy Update

May 19, 2022 – OSMA continues to monitor and advocate at the federal level this month. Recent updates include details about Medicare Advantage Plans wrongly denying prior authorization requests, and momentum continuing for the federal Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act.

05/19/2022

OSMA's State Legislative Update

May 19, 2022 – As the summer recess approaches, the Ohio Legislature is bustling with activity. OSMA’s advocacy team has been on-hand to work with elected officials regarding several major topics in the past few weeks, including the following items...

05/19/2022

May's Medical Board Meeting Recap

May 19, 2022 – Rules and issues to watch from the May 11th meeting include Interstate Medical License Compact, Telehealth Rules, and Medical Marijuana.

04/28/2022

Ohio Medicaid Revises Schedule on Implementation of Major Program Changes

April 28, 2022 – Rather than launch several new programs and administrative changes on July 1, Ohio Medicaid will start OhioRISE as previously scheduled, but stagger the remaining updates to “to ensure smooth member and provider transitions.” Medicaid provided the following details regarding the timeline.

04/26/2022

Introducing OSMA’s New President: A Q&A with Brian Santin, MD

April 26, 2022 – We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Santin as our new President, and we thank Dr. Lisa B. Egbert who tactfully completed her term. Read on to learn more about Dr. Santin, his medical career, and his vision for leading OSMA.

04/21/2022

Federal Surprise Billing Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) Portal Now Active

April 21, 2022 – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) portal, which allows providers to initiate the IDR process under the No Surprises Act, is now active. Read on to learn more here and get the Ohio specifics as well.

04/21/2022

OSMA Gives Annual Awards

April 21, 2022 – The following individuals were honored at this year’s OSMA Annual Meeting for being the OSMA Physician Advocate of the Year, OSMAPAC Donor of the Year, and Voice of Medicine.

04/21/2022

April's Medical Board Meeting Recap

April 21, 2022 – See summaries from the April 13th meeting, including an interstate medical license compact update, the weight loss prescribing rule, and other rules to watch.

04/23/2021

Introducing OSMA’s New President: A Q&A with Lisa Egbert, MD

April 23, 2021 – We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Egbert as our new President, and we thank Dr. Anthony Armstrong who skillfully completed his term. Read on to learn more about Dr. Egbert, her medical career, and her vision for leading OSMA.

02/11/2021

Health Equity Q&A with OSMA President Anthony Armstrong, MD

February 11, 2021 - The COVID-19 pandemic and elevated conversations about racial justice have brought the issue of healthcare equity to the forefront for healthcare professionals everywhere. As we support members in 2021, we’re pleased to share thoughts from OSMA President Anthony Armstrong, MD on health equity and what this means for Ohio physicians.

08/01/2019

Ohio Physicians Give Feedback on Medicaid Managed Care Program

Many of our members provide daily patient care to Ohio’s Medicaid population and thus are uniquely qualified to provide meaningful information to assist the Ohio Department of Medicaid in its upcoming competitive Medicaid managed care procurement process. The comments we received from our members generally centered on areas where improvement is most desired, including plan accountability, grievances and appeals, provider support, benefits and delivery, and care coordination and management.

07/23/2019

Wrap Up: Ohio Delegation to the American Medical Association

Your OSMA Delegation to the AMA worked diligently on behalf of Ohio physicians during the recent 2019 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Ohio resolutions were carried forward and either adopted as new policy or committed the AMA to continue existing policy for another ten years.

07/18/2019

Ohio Budget Process Complete

The OSMA Government Relations team has been engaging with legislators on health care-related budget items since the governor’s initial proposal was released, and has been following and participating in the ongoing debates about a number of health policy decisions.

03/28/2019

Dollars & Sense: The State Budget

Earlier this week, the state budget became a bill on Capitol Hill—or at least on Capitol Square in Columbus, Ohio. The OSMA has completed an initial review of the bill language...

02/28/2019

OSMA Goes to Washington

Earlier this month, several OSMA members along with the OSMA Government Relations staff traveled to Washington DC to meet with members of Congress to discuss how existing laws are affecting patients and practices.

02/14/2019

What is the OSMA Doing for You?

With a new governor in office and Ohio legislators back at the Statehouse, the OSMA is putting our advocacy agenda—based on the priorities of our members—in motion.

01/08/2019

Ohio’s Lame Duck Legislative Session 2018 – What Happened & What You Should Know

The final months of 2018 were a whirlwind beyond the usual frenzied legislative activity of “lame duck” – with Ohio’s legislators staying in session until just days before the Christmas holiday, and returning for more action just days after. This scenario is extremely rare and hasn’t happened in Ohio’s legislature to this extent in decades.