11/23/2016

Infant Mortality Bill Advances in the General Assembly

Stakeholders have indicated the bill is a priority for lame duck session

During the hectic, post-election lame duck session of the 131st General Assembly, legislators have prioritized a bill to implement the recommendations of the Ohio Commission on Infant Mortality.

Introduced in May by Sens. Shannon Jones (R – Springboro) and Charleta Tavares (D – Columbus), Senate Bill 332 has seen a flurry of activity as legislators work to enact the legislation before the end of the 131st General Assembly. If the legislation has not cleared the General Assembly by that time, the legislation will be effectively “dead” and will need to be re-introduced in the next General Assembly.

As first introduced, SB 332 also contained a provision requiring all physicians to complete continuing education in cultural competency. While physicians support efforts to reduce Ohio’s unacceptably high infant mortality rate, Ohio ACEP and other medical societies are against mandatory cultural competence training.

In response to these concerns, SB 332 was amended to instead require licensure boards (including the Ohio State Medical Board) to provide licensees with a list of optional continuing education opportunities for cultural competency.

SB 332 cleared the Ohio Senate on September 28 with a vote of 29-1. The House Finance Committee is how considering the bill and aims to advance the legislation to the full Ohio House for a vote before the end of the lame duck session. Stay tuned for updates on the bill’s progress!