Ohio Society of Health-System PharmacY

Email Update: 2-09-2022: HB 451

OSHP Members,

Our Legislative Affairs Division would like to make you aware of some important legislative updates regarding Ohio House Bill 451 and our organizations opposition to the practice of white bagging.

House Bill 451 (HB 451), also known as the “Revise Physician-Administered Drug Law”  has been introduced to the Ohio House and referred to the House Insurance Committee. Although it has yet to be updated on the Ohio House of Representatives website/calendar, we have heard that the House Insurance Committee met this morning (2/9/22) at 9:30 am to hear testimony from proponents of HB 451.

HB 451, if enacted, would prohibit a health benefit plan from requiring that physician-administered drugs be dispensed by a pharmacy/affiliated pharmacy. Additionally, it would prohibit a plan from limiting coverage when such drugs are not dispensed by a pharmacy/affiliated pharmacy or covering such drugs with higher cost-sharing if dispensed in a setting other than a pharmacy.

OSHP SUPPORTS HB451 as the bill strongly aligns with our organizational opposition to the practice of white bagging.

We encourage our members to write to their legislators, especially those who sit on the house insurance committee and share your support for HB451. Your voice matters, legislators often mention that hearing the stories about how these practices impact our patients goes a long way toward earning their legislative support.

Additionally, whether or not your specific representatives are on the insurance committee, you can contact the chair of the insurance committee Thomas E. Brinkman by Clicking Here

Below you will find a variety of resources that will help you…

1. Familiarize yourself with white bagging and understand why OSHP opposes the practice

To learn more about our organizational position regarding the practice of white bagging, Click Here

2. Learn more about HB451

To learn more about House Bill 451: Click Here

For More Detailed Analysis: Click Here

For The Exact Legislative Text: Click Here

To watch the previous Insurance Committee Meeting Regarding HB451: Click Here

3.) Identify your Ohio representatives and those who sit on the house insurance committee.

To find your specific representatives: Click Here

To identify members of the House Insurance Committee: Click Here                        

If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please email me at legal@ohioshp.org  

Email Update: 2-17-2022: HB 218, HB 451, HB 122

There are 2 bills (HB218 and HB 451) that are currently in the hopper. Below is a brief review of the two bills.

House Bill 218 proposes that no school, or employer may require any vaccine/drug product that is not fully approved by the FDA, if a vaccine/other drug product has received full FDA approval, the bill establishes that natural immunity as well as reasons of personal conscience would exempt the student or employee from that requirement. The bill additionally prohibits any public or private entity to require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for any reason and permits a court to aware attorney’s fees to that individual to support for the prohibition.  

HB 218 was passed by the Ohio House on 11/18/21, it was later introduced in the Senate and referred to the General Government Budget Committee on 11/30/21. OSHP opposes HB218 and has worked with the council of colleges of pharmacy and other organizations to express our written opposition to the General Government Budget Committee.

House Bill 451 prohibits health benefit plans from requiring that a physician-administered medication be dispensed by an affiliated pharmacy and prohibits them from limiting coverage or altering the cost-sharing policy for the drugs in question if dispensed in a setting other than a pharmacy.

HB 451 was introduced to the Ohio house and referred to the Insurance committee on 10/13/21. OSHP supports HB451 and is working to draft written letters of support for the bill. OSHP members are encouraged to submit examples of how the practice of “white-bagging” has impacted you and your ability to care for your patients.

For the above, please submit these examples to legal@ohioshp.org

House Bill 122 was officially signed into law on January 10, 2022.  It made temporary telehealth flexibilities granted in Ohio under the COVID-19 public health emergency permanent. The timely passage of House Bill 122 ensured our healthcare professionals and patients could utilize telehealth seamlessly as the law went into effect before the temporary telehealth flexibilities expire on March 31, 2022. These changes will benefit patients and providers alike by increasing access to care and decreasing cost.  We are excited to this piece of legislation come to fruition!

HB122 in summary:

• Expands the list of eligible providers, permitting psychologists, pharmacists, speech and hearing therapists, physical therapists, counselors and social workers, dietitians, optometrists, chiropractors and several other health care specialties to utilize telehealth services
• Establishes that the same standard of care applies to telehealth and in-person services
• Allows the use of telehealth for initial visits with a patient, with limited exceptions
• Allows the use of use of both one- and two-way communication to provide telehealth services
• Requires Medicaid and private insurance to cover those telehealth services