As announced last week, House Bill 216 did pass the House – however, this step does NOT mean it is LAW at this point. To recap what did happen: HB 216, version 9, passed out of the House Health and Aging Committee unanimously and passed out of the House on a vote of 86 to 1 on May 25th. A link to that announcement and a summary of what was in the bill that passed is HERE.
We are aware of some frustration as well as confusion among some of our membership and this email seeks to help clarify issues.
- HB 216 is NOT law at this point. It still has to go thru the Senate Medicaid committee and the full Senate in the late fall. If there are any changes to the bill, the changed version must be approved by the House of Representatives before the bill can go to the Governor for signature. This must all occur in the 4-5 weeks left of the 131st General Assembly. If HB 216 does not get to the Governor, the bill “dies” and the legislative process begins again in the 132nd General Assembly. A summary of HB 216 can be found HERE. A visual of the next steps for HB 216 is HERE.
- Opposition from organized medicine was focused and formidable from the very start and was the primary reason that Representative Pelanda retained the SCA. The leaders of OAAPN and their lobbyists spent hours discussing and eventually agreeing upon concessions. Because HB 216, version 9, has practice law changes that still offer some improvement to Ohio APRN practice, which will improve health care access, OAAPN continued to pursue passage of this final version.
- We understand the frustration of some members. However, please remember that it took 7 years to pass Schedule II legislation. Additionally, the language remaining in HB 216 will have a positive impact on our practice and our patients. The legislative process is complicated and confusing to many. The OAAPN is confident that their lobbyists have guided our leadership to make decisions that will improve our practice and will set the scene for future legislation to remove more barriers to practice.
Please consider getting more involved by becoming a Key Person (look under the membership tab of website for volunteer app), looking for information at www.oaapn.org. attending a Town Hall Meeting later this summer, interacting with your state legislators or donating to the OAAPN PAC.