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June Legislative Update: HB 12, HB 71, HB 93, SB 83

H.B. 12: Medicaid Services 

Introduced by Rep. Barbara Sears, this bill would implement some of the recommendations of a 2006 Medicaid performance audit that is estimated to save $122 million per year.  The bill involves several key concepts, including creating a disease management program for fee-for-service individuals and piloting a Medicaid e-prescribing program.  This bill would also require any Medicaid provider who has been investigated for any criminal offense of fraud to purchase a bond.  ODJFS will set the amount of the bond for each provider required to post a surety bond at a level that reflects the level of risk of fraud by the provider.  OPA is concerned about this last provision.  We feel the bar for requiring a surety bond should be conviction of fraud.  We will continue to work with the sponsor of the bill to make the necessary changes.

H.B. 71:  Ohio Official Prescription Program 

Introduced by Rep. Clayton Luckie, this bill would create the Ohio Official Prescription Program requiring all prescriptions to be written on official prescription pads purchased from the State.  It would also require prescribers and pharmacists to obtain information from the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS).  The bill had sponsor testimony, but has not had further hearings.  OPA is opposed to creating a new paper system that will require pharmacists to buy computer hardware that would allow for the scanning or manual entry of a unique I.D. number in order for the prescription to be automatically validated. 

H.B. 93: Pain Clinic Legislation 

This bill, introduced by Rep. Dave Burke and Rep. Terry Johnson, would require prescribers to check OARRS before dispensing a controlled substance; create a $150 Terminal Distributor License with a Pain Management Clinic classification; establish a penalty of up to $5,000 for physicians who fail to obtain a license; define “pain management clinics” with an exemption for hospitals, medical and dental schools, and hospice; authorize the State Board of Pharmacy to suspend a terminal distributor license if there is clear and convincing evidence that the provider presents a danger of immediate and serious harm to others; prohibit prescribers from dispensing controlled substances that exceed a 72-hour dosage; restrict prescribers’ ability to dispense controlled substances that exceed 2,500 dosage units in any 30-day period; require Medicaid recipients who are found to have obtained drugs that are not medically necessary to fill prescriptions at a single pharmacy; and authorize the Board of Pharmacy, Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, and the Attorney General’s Office to create a statewide Drug Take Back Program.

H.B. 93 was passed in the House and Senate Health Committees, the full Senate, and has been signed by Governor Kasich. 

S.B. 83: Prescriptive Authority 

Introduced by Sen. Scott Oelslager, Chairman of the Senate Health Committee, this bill eliminates most of the restrictions in current law governing certain APNs’ ability to prescribe schedule II controlled substances.  The practical effect of these changes is that the bill authorizes an APN with prescriptive authority to prescribe a schedule II controlled substance in any circumstance as long as the APN is doing both of the following:

(1) Acting in the course of professional practice;

(2) Acting in collaboration with a physician or podiatrist and in accordance with other applicable laws. To practice collaboratively, the APN must have entered into a “standard care arrangement” with the collaborating physician or podiatrist. An APN’s prescriptive authority may not exceed the prescriptive authority of the APN’s collaborating physician or podiatrist.  This is the companion bill to H.B. 141 in the House.

If you have any questions or comments about the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Kelly Vyzral, Director of Government Affairs, at 614.586.1497 or kvyzral@ohiopharmacists.org.