The legislative session of 2026 has officially kicked off, with hearings in both the House and Senate over the past several weeks. OSMA has hit the ground running on our legislative priorities and we are picking up right where we left off with the momentum of last year on many critical issues.

This week, committee hearings included a handful of our key insurance reform and scope of practice issues:

• House Bill 220 – (fourth hearing): For HB 220’s hearing in the House Insurance Committee on Tuesday, the committee members received written testimony from two opponents of the bill for consideration, but no opponents testified in-person. OSMA continues to work closely with the sponsor, Rep. Heidi Workman (R-Rootstown), and other interested parties to hopefully come to an agreement that allows for HB 220 to advance forward out of the House Insurance Committee. As a reminder, this legislation is among the series of major insurance reform proposals which OSMA has been spearheading a campaign to support since last spring. It would make several changes to streamline the prior authorization process and lessen the burden it creates for physicians and their patients—including by addressing issues with retroactive denials, peer-to-peer reviews, appeals, and dosage adjustments for medication treatments for chronic conditions.

• House Bill 8 – (fifth hearing): Numerous proponents and other interested parties submitted testimony for Wednesday’s hearing on House Bill 8, which we are pleased to report was voted out of the House Health Committee. The bill now heads to the House floor for a full vote before it must be introduced and move through the Senate.
  
  OSMA is supporting this legislation as part of a coalition of other healthcare organizations and patient advocacy groups. HB 8 is sponsored by Rep. Andrea White (R-Kettering) and would, under medically-appropriate circumstances, require health benefit plans and the Medicaid program to cover biomarker testing. Biomarker testing is increasingly used in diagnosis and treatment of a variety of conditions, including cancer. Insurance coverage would help reduce treatment costs and improve quality of life for Ohio patients.

• Senate Bill 36 – (fourth hearing, no testimony): Sponsored by Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) and Sen. George Lang (R-West Chester), this legislation would allow for optometrists in Ohio to perform certain surgical procedures, including laser eye surgery. This week, a substitute version of the bill was accepted by the Senate Health Committee.
  
  As a reminder, OSMA has partnered with the Ohio Ophthalmological Society (OOS) in opposition to SB 36, emphasizing significant patient safety concerns. We remain in opposition, as our safety concerns have not been addressed by the changes made in the substitute bill. OSMA and OOS continue to stress to elected officials that optometrists do not receive the extensive medical education and training that is necessary in order to ensure patient safety and to facilitate high-quality outcomes of surgery.

• Senate Bill 230 – (second hearing): This week, the Senate Health Committee also held the proponent testimony hearing for SB 230, sponsored by Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario). This legislation would allow for Ohio pharmacists to conduct screenings, order and administer laboratory and diagnostic tests, evaluate the results of the screenings conducted and tests that are ordered and administered, and provide treatment for the following health conditions:
  • Influenza;
  • Pharyngitis caused by the bacteria known as “group A streptococcus”;
  • COVID-19;
  • Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); and,
  • Other respiratory conditions, if specified in rules developed and adopted under the bill, if enacted.
    
    OSMA is opposing this legislation, with concerns about pharmacists ordering tests and diagnosing/treating conditions without the medical education required in order to do so safely and effectively. The next step in the process will be an opportunity for opponents to testify, and OSMA is preparing to take part when the next hearing may occur.

Please stay tuned for more updates as activity at the Statehouse continues to pick up in the coming months. The OSMA Advocacy team will continue its daily work on OSMA’s advocacy agenda throughout the spring and provide timely information.