Complete Story
 

05/21/2010

Membership Update - May 2010

In This Issue:

Legislative Summary May 2010
OAPA 2010-2011 Board of Directors
OAPA Office has Moved
Mentor Program
Reminder of Aetna Policy Changes
Call for Newsletter Articles

Legislative Summary May 2010


Comprehensive PA Modernization Bill

The comprehensive PA Modernization bill will strengthen PA practice in Ohio by allowing PAs to pronounce death, giving PAs immunity when providing emergency services, eliminating the prescriptive authority provisional period for PAs moving in from out-of-state (providing they have had prescriptive authority in another jurisdiction), specifying Medicaid reimbursement for PAs up to 100%, clarifying that PAs can give physical therapy and occupational therapy orders and giving PAs Schedule II prescriptive authority.

The legislation was drafted by LSC, reviewed by OAPA and our lobbyists and resubmitted to LSC to be finalized prior to introduction in the House. Representatives Letson and Wachtmann have agreed to co-sponsor the bill when it is introduced, hopefully soon.

OAPA continues to meet with various groups including OSMA, Ohio ACEP, OAFP, OOA, Premier and the Cleveland Clinic to build support for the legislation. Representative Letson gave testimony on the House floor announcing the fact that OAPA will be bringing a comprehensive piece of legislation to them in the near future.

HB198 (Lehner, Ujvagi) Establishes a Medical Home Model Demonstration Project and award scholarships to medical students for practice in primary care. Passed by the House and is pending in the Senate Health Committee. GARC Committee Chair Josanne Pagel gave testimony at a recent Senate hearing encouraging the committee to include PAs in the bill. Representatives from the Kettering College of Medical Arts and University of Toledo PA programs also have contacted Representative Lehner to encourage PA inclusion.

HB206 (Boyd, Oelslager) Gives APNs Schedule II prescriptive authority. Passed by the House on May 19. It will now be referred to the Senate Health Committee for hearing. OAPA anticipates being invited to participate in an interested parties meeting on this bill and continues to pursue inclusion of PAs in this bill.

SB86 (Buehrer) To grant qualified civil immunity to a physician who provides emergency medical services, first-aid treatment or other emergency professional care in compliance with the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act or as a result of a disaster. The bill was amended to include PAs and was passed by the Senate on May 19.

OAPA 2010-2011 Board of Directors


Those members present at the April Membership Meeting in Cuyahoga Falls confirmed the 2010-2011 Board of Directors:

They are:

President - Douglas Eulberg
Past President - Albert Etheart
President Elect - JP Thompson
Vice President - James Fry
Treasurer - Andrea Boyd
Secretary - Leah Barmasse
Region 1 (E. Cleveland) - Daniel Goodrich
Region 2 (W. Cleveland) - Michael Dombrowski
Region 3 (Akron) - Natalie Talboo
Region 4 (Central Ohio) - Karen Wampler
Region 5 (Toledo) - Sara Bassler
Region 6 (Dayton) - Sue Wise
Region 7 (Cincinnati) - Clare Logan
A student representative will be named from the Mt. Union PA Program.

The board will next meet on July 10, 2010 in Columbus. Members are welcome to attend and/or submit agenda items. Please contact the OAPA office (800/292-4997 or oapa@ohiopa.com).

The OAPA Office has Moved!


The OAPA office has relocated to:

4700 Reed Road, Suite N
Columbus, OH 43220
800/292-4997 (614/824-2101 in Columbus)
Fax: 614/824-2103
oapa@ohiopa.com

OAPA Mentor Program


Thanks to Doug Eulberg, OAPA now has a list of PA volunteers by region and specialty that are willing to mentor current PA students and recent grads. If you are a member of OAPA and would like to be put in contact with a mentor in your area or specialty, please contact the OAPA office at 800/292-4997 or oapa@ohiopa.com.

Reminder - Aetna Policy Changes Effective June 1


Aetna will decrease its payment for service provided by PAs, NPs, and nurse midwives to 85% of the physician contracted rate effective June 1, 2010. As part of this policy change, Aetna is asking that PAs be officially listed in their network provider directories. Details from Aetna newsletter.

Call for Newsletter Articles


Please consider submitting an article for the monthly OAPA newsletter. We're sure that many of you have something to share with your PA colleagues. Submit articles in a Word document to oapa@ohiopa.com.

Printer-Friendly Version