05/01/2025

OSMA, AMA, and Other Medical Associations Oppose Expansion of Medicare-Covered Chiropractic Services

The joint letter sent to congress opposes S. 106/H.R. 539, the “Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2025,” which would amend the Social Security Act’s definition of "physician" to extend Medicare coverage for services furnished by chiropractors beyond the manual manipulation of the spine.

04/24/2025

Medical Liability: A State-Level Review

Due to the OSMA’s efforts to pass comprehensive medical liability reform legislation in the early 2000s, Ohio has had a stable medical malpractice marketplace for more than twenty years.

04/23/2025

News from Ohio Medicaid: Security Changes Coming May 4

OSMA received the following bulletin from the Ohio Medicaid Department. Make sure your practice plans accordingly.

04/17/2025

OSMA Announces Advocacy Campaign in Support of Insurance Reform Legislation

OSMA is proud to be actively supporting this series of insurance reform initiatives, all of which aim to shed light on the extreme burden insurers are placing on our healthcare system.

04/16/2025

OSMA Files Brief to Protect Expert Medical Testimony in Medical Malpractice Cases

Joined by the AMA, the Ohio Hospital Association, and the Ohio Osteopathic Association, OSMA recently filed a brief with the Supreme Court of Ohio to protect the use of expert testimony for physicians in medical malpractice cases.

04/02/2025

OSMA applauds Ohio House and Senate for prioritizing patients and healthcare providers over insurers

PRESS RELEASE: Putting patients interests over insurance companies, keeping medical decision-making in the hands of physicians, and shedding light on the massive burdens put on our healthcare system and providers by insurance companies...

03/20/2025

Congress Extends Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities

This week, Congress extended telehealth flexibilities under Medicare for another six months, until September 30, 2025.

03/19/2025

OSMA Legislative Update: State Budget

This month, OSMA testified regarding the state budget bill, House Bill 96. These advocacy efforts were a part of a recent push by OSMA, in which we are advocating for a budget amendment that provides additional funding for graduate medical education.

03/18/2025

Gender Affirming Care Litigation

This week, an Ohio court partially overturned a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, allowing the continued prescription of puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The 10th District Court of Appeals explained that the law violated the Ohio Constitution's Health Care Freedom Amendment and interfered with parents' rights to seek appropriate care for their children.

03/14/2025

OSMA Fights for Physician Autonomy; Helps Achieve Legal Win for Physicians in Lorain

Recent events involving Mercy Health and the City of Lorain illustrate the challenges physicians face when their professional expertise and ethical obligations are placed under undue external pressure. OSMA recognizes the profound consequences such situations have not only for physicians but for the patients and communities that depend on their care.

03/07/2025

OSMA Joins State Coalition to Advocate Against Medicaid Cuts

Potential budget cuts unite all 50 state medical associations and the District of Columbia in letters to raise concerns about Medicaid funding cuts.

03/05/2025

OSMA Testifies in House Health Committee Regarding State Budget

On Wednesday morning in a hearing in the Ohio House Health Committee, OSMA VP of Advocacy Monica Hueckel gave testimony regarding House Bill 96, or the state operating budget for the fiscal year of 2026-2027.

03/04/2025

Making a Change to Your Medicaid Provider Network Management Module? ...What you need to know

The Ohio Department of Medicaid just made the following announcement regarding changing the Provider Network Management (PNM) module administrator.

02/20/2025

OSMA Advocates for Federal Medicare Payment Fix Act on Capitol Hill

Please contact your representative today! If passed, the "Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act" would cancel the January 1 Medicare payment cut and provide a 2% payment update, helping to stabilize physician practices and protect patients' access to care.

02/19/2025

OSMA Statehouse Legislative Update

Activity has started to pick up at the Ohio Statehouse with the new general assembly in full swing. Alongside the state budget bill, several familiar bills have been reintroduced. The OSMA Advocacy team has been busy working with legislators on the following issues...

02/06/2025

Medicare physician payment bill introduced to revert the cut and increase reimbursement for 2025

This legislation, if passed, would, effective April 1st, prospectively cancel the 2.83% payment cut that went into effect on January 1, while also providing a 2.0% payment update, helping to stabilize physician practices and protect patients' access to care.

01/29/2025

Leadership Opportunities Available – Deadline is Feb. 4

From our OSMA President: "I realize the importance of having motivated and engaged volunteer leaders to help direct the positions and activities of the organization. Now is your chance to join the effort!"

01/23/2025

OSMA 2025 Advocacy Preview

The Ohio General Assembly began its 136th session this month, and this means that legislators, including some newly elected officials from the November election, are at the Statehouse ready for business. OSMA’s Advocacy Team is also on-hand and preparing for this year’s advocacy efforts on behalf of the practice of medicine, including work related to the state biennial budget process.

01/23/2025

Preview of Medical Board Happenings

The State Medical Board of Ohio is planning for another busy year. The Board typically meets monthly, and OSMA is the only medical professional organization that directly covers every meeting.

01/22/2025

AMA State Advocacy Summit

The American Medical Association (AMA) State Advocacy Summit (SAS) was held in Carlsbad, California from January 9–11, 2025, and OSMA VP of Advocacy, Monica Hueckel, and Director of Government Relations, Joe Rosato, were in attendance. Read on for a summary of the event...

12/20/2024

OSMA Legislative “Lame Duck” Summary

Many bills moved through hearings in committees and passed on the House and Senate floors in the past several weeks. Read on for a summary of what happened with the major items impacting the practice of medicine.

11/20/2024

Take Action Now: Medicare Physician Payment Reform Bill Introduced

Oct. 31, 2024 - Your action is needed to help pass bill HR 10073 to eliminate the proposed Medicare cut and include an actual payment increase to support physicians.

11/07/2024

OSMA Legislative “Lame Duck” Preview

Nov. 7, 2024 - OSMA’s Advocacy team is prepared to be all hands on deck through the last day of session in December. Lame duck can be an unpredictable time, but we do have a general idea of what issues may be in focus, and where our priorities will be in the coming weeks.

11/06/2024

OSMA's Election Takeaways – 2024 Recap & Results

Nov. 6, 2024 – Get our overview of what happened and how the OSMAPAC’s endorsed candidates fared in this week’s elections. And stay tuned for advocacy updates as the Ohio Legislature moves into its lame duck session!

10/17/2024

Medicare Physician Payment - Physician Advocacy Effort Helps Generate Significant Response from Congress

Oct. 17, 2024 – As you may recall, we recently put out a call for physicians to contact their representatives in Congress and encourage them to urge House leadership to expeditiously replace the 2.8% Medicare physician payment cut with a payment update reflective of inflationary pressures before January 1, 2025.

10/16/2024

OSMA Joins Court Brief to Protect Children from Flavored Tobacco

Oct. 16, 2024 – OSMA recently signed on to an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief in a case concerning the State of Ohio’s authority to prohibit municipalities from banning flavored tobacco products.

09/17/2024

We Need Your Help! OSMA Continues Advocacy Efforts for Medicare Payment Reform

Sept 17, 2024 – Our goal is to get House leadership to take immediate action to not only stop the 2.8 percent cut to physician Medicare payments, but also to provide physicians with a much-needed payment update that reflects the inflationary pressure they're facing while running a medical practice.

09/05/2024

OSMA Comments on Proposed 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rules

Sept 5, 2024 – Today, OSMA submitted comments to CMS on the proposed 2025 Medicare physician fee schedule rules.

09/05/2024

UnitedHealthcare® Announces Details of Prior Authorization Gold Card to Start

Sept 5, 2024 – For the last year, OSMA has been advocating for HB 130 that would create a prior authorization gold card program for physicians in Ohio. As these efforts continue, one of the biggest payers in Ohio, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), has announced the details of a gold card program they will implement in Ohio and across the nation starting October 1.

08/29/2024

Franklin County Judge Issues Temporary Injunction Against Various Abortion-Related Statutes

Aug 29, 2024 – A judge in Franklin County has temporarily blocked a few abortion related statutes in Ohio, citing Ohio’s recently passed constitutional amendment language.

08/21/2024

Federal District Court Blocks FTC Non-Compete Ban

Aug 21, 2024 – The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) recently finalized rule banning non-compete agreements across the country will not be going into effect on September 4, as a Texas Federal District Court Judge has struck down the rule.

08/15/2024

OSMA Files Brief Defending Physicians from Broadening Exposure in Medical Malpractice Claims

Aug 15, 2024 – OSMA's advocacy team is constantly reviewing cases both at the state and federal level for any impact on our members. Of all of the issues we handle, medical malpractice laws protecting providers are the ones almost continuously under attack in litigation.

08/14/2024

Legal Update: What is Impacting Healthcare in Ohio?

Aug 15, 2024 – Litigation and legislation concerning gender-affirming care have both exploded over the past few years. In particular, many states have enacted laws that prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.

08/12/2024

Support the OSMAPAC in this Critical Election Year!

Aug 14, 2024 – OSMA is always there for you to help make your voice heard on the issues that matter most – and the Ohio State Medical Association Political Action Committee (OSMAPAC) is crucial to our continued success.

08/07/2024

No Surprises Act Court Decision Supports Physician Practices

Aug 7, 2024 – Recently, the US Fifth Circuit Court upheld a lower court surprise billing decision in favor of healthcare providers. The court held that a federal rule concerning the arbitration process in payment disputes of surprise billing claims conflicts with the Administrative Procedures Act and that the federal departments exceeded their rulemaking authority.

07/25/2024

Summer Regulatory & Legal Update

July 25, 2024 – Compliance Reminder: HIPAA Reproductive Privacy Rule implementation has essentially updated HIPAA for providers in three ways. Also, read the latest on gender-affirming care cases, i.e. the Supreme Court case United States v. Skrmetti, and how a Franklin County judge issued a temporarily injunction for the enforcement of the House Bill 68 legislation, which would prevent transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care.

07/18/2024

OSMA Mid-Year Advocacy Wrap Up

July 18, 2024 – The legislative sessions have been extremely hectic, with both chambers of the Statehouse moving a record number of bills through committee hearings and floor votes. Your OSMA Advocacy team was actively involved as many of our priority advocacy issues were among those experiencing activity.

07/11/2024

HHS Releases 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rules—Reductions Continue

July 11, 2024 – On July 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rules. In the press release, HHS stated the following related to 2025 rates...

06/19/2024

Legislative Advocacy Update – June

June 19, 2024 – The OSMA advocacy team has had an action-packed several weeks at the Statehouse in Columbus as legislators prepare to wrap up their sessions for the summer recess before the upcoming fall elections.

06/18/2024

Recent Medical Board & Legal News

June 18, 2024 – Get an update on the Supreme Court decision on Mifepristone, what the Ohio Med Board has rejected as qualifying conditions for the recommendation of medical marijuana, and a new HIPAA privacy rule.

06/18/2024

Legislation Reintroduced to Reform Medicare Advantage Plans use of Prior Authorization 

June 18, 2024 – A bipartisan bill, Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (S. 4532 / H.R. 8702), has been reintroduced at the federal level to reform the use of prior authorization by Medicare Advantage plans. Both Ohio Senators—Brown and Vance—have co-sponsored the bill as well as congressman Balderson, Carey, Latta and Wenstrup. In total there are 135 U.S. House of Representatives and 45 senators signed on as co-sponsors.

06/13/2024

Ohio Physician Leaders Attend AMA Annual Meeting

June 13, 2024 – Over the last week, a delegation of Ohio physicians elected by members of the OSMA attended the American Medical Association’s Annual Meeting—joining with colleagues from across the country to review and debate policy. There were also a number of physicians from Ohio elected or appointed to leadership positions.

05/15/2024

May Legislative Advocacy Update

May 15, 2024 – Our OSMA Advocacy team is currently facing the additional challenge of limited chances for movement on our priority issues, but thankfully we can report that due to our efforts, progress continues for the OSMA advocacy agenda.

05/14/2024

Feds Solicit Complaints for Anti-Competitive Behavior in Healthcare

May 14, 2024 – In late April of this year, the Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, and Department of Health and Human Services announced a joint online portal to solicit complaints from providers and members of the public to report anti-competitive behavior in the healthcare marketplace.

05/14/2024

Ohio Medical Board Receives Expert Reports on Medical Marijuana Conditions

May 14, 2024 – At its May meeting, the State Medical Board received expert third-party reports for the petitions to add two new conditions to the Board’s list of those permissible for a medical marijuana condition.

05/13/2024

Planned Parenthood Challenges Additional Ohio Abortion Laws

May 13, 2024 – Last week, Planned Parenthood motioned the court in their case to file an amended complaint to include the recently-passed Constitutional right to abortion as support to their initial claims—which challenged an Ohio law that required any initial dose of medication-induced abortion to be consumed by the patient while physically present in the same location of their physician.

04/18/2024

OSMA’s Advocacy Results in Directive from the Department of Insurance on Change Healthcare

April 18, 2024 – Last month, OSMA and OHA sent a joint letter to the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI), requesting a directive be sent to all licensed health insurers in Ohio to create flexibility for physicians' and hospitals' interactions with payers due to the major disruption caused by the Change Healthcare cyberattack. Last week, ODI followed through on this request and sent a notice to all payers outlining the specific requests that we made.

03/26/2024

Are You Being Paid 2024 Rates? Check Your Medicaid Claims

March 26, 2024 – As a result of OSMA advocacy efforts last year, on Jan. 1 Ohio increased the Medicaid fee schedule resulting in the majority of codes increasing by 5% with a cumulative impact of about $400 million in new funding. The implementation of the increase has been challenging and it's essential that practices review their claims payment history since Jan. 1 to ensure you are receiving the appropriate increase.

04/26/2022

Introducing OSMA’s New President: A Q&A with Brian Santin, MD

April 26, 2022 – We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Santin as our new President, and we thank Dr. Lisa B. Egbert who tactfully completed her term. Read on to learn more about Dr. Santin, his medical career, and his vision for leading OSMA.

04/23/2021

Introducing OSMA’s New President: A Q&A with Lisa Egbert, MD

April 23, 2021 – We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Egbert as our new President, and we thank Dr. Anthony Armstrong who skillfully completed his term. Read on to learn more about Dr. Egbert, her medical career, and her vision for leading OSMA.

02/11/2021

Health Equity Q&A with OSMA President Anthony Armstrong, MD

February 11, 2021 - The COVID-19 pandemic and elevated conversations about racial justice have brought the issue of healthcare equity to the forefront for healthcare professionals everywhere. As we support members in 2021, we’re pleased to share thoughts from OSMA President Anthony Armstrong, MD on health equity and what this means for Ohio physicians.

08/01/2019

Ohio Physicians Give Feedback on Medicaid Managed Care Program

Many of our members provide daily patient care to Ohio’s Medicaid population and thus are uniquely qualified to provide meaningful information to assist the Ohio Department of Medicaid in its upcoming competitive Medicaid managed care procurement process. The comments we received from our members generally centered on areas where improvement is most desired, including plan accountability, grievances and appeals, provider support, benefits and delivery, and care coordination and management.

07/23/2019

Wrap Up: Ohio Delegation to the American Medical Association

Your OSMA Delegation to the AMA worked diligently on behalf of Ohio physicians during the recent 2019 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Ohio resolutions were carried forward and either adopted as new policy or committed the AMA to continue existing policy for another ten years.

07/18/2019

Ohio Budget Process Complete

The OSMA Government Relations team has been engaging with legislators on health care-related budget items since the governor’s initial proposal was released, and has been following and participating in the ongoing debates about a number of health policy decisions.