The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) advocacy team monitors healthcare related legislation, rule changes, and legislative updates for Ohio’s family physicians.
To access the OAFP Bill Tracker, visit the OAFP Public Policy webpage and click on the Bill Tracker icon.
Read on for this week’s updates and contact Advocacy Coordinator Kaela Springhetti with questions or for ways to get involved.
Updated OAFP Bill Tracker
Stay up-to-date with healthcare legislation in Ohio with the OAFP Bill Tracker.
View the updated Bill Tracker to see bill numbers; sponsors; descriptions; and current status within the House/Senate. You can also see if/when the legislation was reviewed by the OAFP Public Policy Committee and OAFP’s official position on each bill.
UHC to Stop Covering Visit Complexity Code in Many of Its Plans
Source: American Academy of Family Physicians FPM Journal
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) has announced that starting Sunday, September 1, many of its plans will no longer cover a new add-on code for visit complexity expected to be a boon for primary care.
UHC, the nation’s largest private health insurer, is suspending coverage of HCPCS code G2211 throughout its commercial (employer-based) lines of business and in its individual and family plans, including those offered on the Affordable Care Act exchange. It’s also suspending coverage of the code for its Community Plans (Medicaid managed care) in the following states: Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. UHC will continue to pay for G2211 in its Medicare Advantage line of business.
For more information, Academy members can read the full article in FPM.
June Issue of AAFP’s Family Medicine Advocacy Rounds
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has released its June issue of Family Medicine Advocacy Rounds, a monthly tip sheet to educate, engage, and update you on the latest policy issues affecting family physicians and their patients.
- AAFP Applauds Reintroduction of Legislation to Streamline Prior Authorizations
- Family Physicians Relieved SCOTUS Preserves Patient-Physician Relationship
- AAFP Asks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to Ensure Continued, Timely Access to COVID-19 Vaccines
- AAFP Responds to the Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (PPS) Proposed Rules
- AAFP Applauds the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Guidance to Help Practices Impacted by Cyberattack.
Ohio Democrats Seek Regulation of Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Source: Ohio Capital Journal
A new Ohio bill would take aim at facilities not regulated by the state but receive millions in state funding to promote “pregnancy and parenting.”
Democratic state Representatives Anita Somani (D-Dublin, OH) and Michele Grim (D-Toledo, OH) recently brought House Bill 565 to the chamber’s Finance Committee on in hopes “guaranteed standards and a certain quality of care is met for every person who enters a pregnancy and parenting center in our state,” according to Rep. Grim.
“The goal of this bill is to ensure that crisis pregnancy centers are using state funds to provide medical care, proper assistance to expectant and new mothers, and medically accurate information,” Rep. Somani told the committee.
Crisis pregnancy centers, also called “pregnancy resource centers” by supporters, are typically religiously affiliated, and have been criticized for misrepresenting services provided or the level of medical professionals available.
Read the full article in the Ohio Capital Journal.
Medical Board Rejects Petitions for Autism and FOD
Source: State Medical Board of Ohio
The State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) met on June 12 and discussed the petitions to add two new qualifying conditions to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program (OMMCP). After the discussion, the full board voted to reject the petitions for autism spectrum disorder and female orgasmic difficulty disorder (FOD).
Under Ohio law, the following are qualifying medical conditions: AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cachexia, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, Huntington’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable, Parkinson’s disease, positive status for HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, Spasticity, spinal cord disease or injury, terminal illness, Tourette syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and ulcerative colitis
The next submission period is scheduled for Friday-Tuesday, November 1 – December 31. Anyone may submit a petition requesting a condition be added to the OMMCP. If a condition has been previously rejected by the SMBO, the new petition must contain new scientific information that supports the request.
For more information, visit the Medical Marijuana program page.
CTR Physician Survey
Source: State Medical Board of Ohio
Ohio Revised Code 4731-30 and Ohio Administrative Code 4731-32-03 require each physician with a Certificate to Recommend (CTR) to submit an annual report to the State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO). To collect the annual report data, the SMBO will be sending a survey to all certified physicians. Each physician will be asked to give their professional opinion on the effectiveness of medical marijuana for the conditions for which it has been recommended.
Beginning Monday, July 1, the SMBO will email the survey to each certified physician. To remain in compliance with Ohio law, physicians with a CTR must complete the 2024 survey.