The Ohio Legislature may be on summer recess and many of our elected officials are busy on the campaign trail, but OSMA’s Advocacy team continues to work to move our legislative priorities forward.

When legislators return to the Statehouse this fall following the November general election, we anticipate that there will be an extremely hectic whirlwind of legislative activity to close out the year.

After all, this will be the conclusion of the 136^th General Assembly—which means the end of Ohio’s most recent two-year legislative cycle. For any piece of legislation that is still pending, there are only a few months left to get it across the finish line. Anything that does not pass out of both chambers—House and Senate—before the end of the calendar year would have to be reintroduced and start the legislative process all over again next year in the 137th General Assembly. Every elected official and interested party will be pushing hard to try to get their goals accomplished before this looming deadline, resulting in a highly unpredictable and busy time at the Statehouse.

Your OSMA Advocacy team has spent these summer months preparing, strategizing, researching, meeting with legislators, and laying the groundwork for success during this lame duck session.

While we cannot fully foresee what issues might pop up during the final sessions of 2026, we can make sure to be as prepared as possible to advocate on behalf of the practice of medicine regardless of what lame duck brings.

Thanks to our advocacy efforts thus far, several of OSMA’s major legislative priorities regarding insurance reform are well-positioned to continue forward momentum this fall, and there is a very real possibility that on the heels of our victory with SB 162 being passed earlier this summer, there are more wins on the horizon for Ohio physicians.

As a reminder, Senate Bill 162, regarding insurance takebacks, passed in June and it has been signed into law by Governor DeWine. It will be effective October 7, 2026. This was a historic, thrilling win for OSMA which will bring meaningful change and relief to physicians and patients across the state.

This fall, we will continue the march forward on the rest of our insurance reform initiatives, including these spotlight bills, which we will make every effort to accomplish if possible before the clock runs out:

SB 160: Non-Medical Switching

As a reminder, Senate Bill 160 passed out of the Ohio Senate in June and was promptly introduced in the Ohio House. This legislation, which is sponsored by Sen. Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) and Sen. Beth Liston (D-Dublin), has officially cleared the halfway mark in its journey through the Statehouse. This bill aims to address non-medical switching by prohibiting prohibit mid-year insurer drug formulary changes, preventing abrupt and unwarranted patient treatment changes which can sometimes result in negative, even significantly dangerous health outcomes. As you may recall, the sponsors of SB 160 are also Ohio physicians. Having passed out of one chamber, SB 160 is best poised for OSMA and our allies in the physician and healthcare community to advocate for its full passage this fall.

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HB 220: Prior Authorization

This spring, House Bill 220, which contains several key provisions to streamline Ohio’s prior authorization process, completed the first half of its legislative journey when it passed out of the Ohio House. After being introduced in the Senate, it had one hearing in the Senate Financial Institutions, Insurance and Technology Committee before the summer recess.

HB 220, which is sponsored by Rep. Heidi Workman (R-Rootstown), would:

• Prohibit retroactive denials except for in the case of non-covered benefits or lack of coverage at the time of service.
• Require peer review of prior authorization appeals to occur between the provider and a clinical peer, who must identify themselves.
• Prohibit insurers from charging providers to appeal rejected claims.
• Require insurers to account for dosage adjustments in drug prior authorizations to treat chronic conditions.

HB 220 having already started the committee process in the Senate puts it in a promising position going into lame duck. With this meaningful progress, OSMA will continue to apply focus to this issue and push for additional hearings during the upcoming legislative sessions.

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Additionally, OSMA anticipates that lame duck session advocacy efforts will also include significant attention on various pending scope of practice issues of concern that could see activity at the Statehouse, including legislation regarding the scope of practice of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), physician assistants (PAs), midwives, and pharmacists. We continue to advocate for physician-led, team-based care and for patient safety in these important deliberations.

We will also keep up our work in opposition to several legislative proposals which would raise the state’s cap on non-economic damages. OSMA is actively involved in sounding the alarm about the threat that House Bill 447 and Senate Bill 292 pose to the stability of the medical liability climate in Ohio.

Please stay tuned for updates on our progress and on emerging issues this fall in the aftermath of the elections!!