If you didn’t watch yesterday’s opponent testimony on HB 508… you need to. Not for my interpretation — but to hear, with your own ears, how a select group of organizations talked about APRNs in front of policymakers.
Watch the pivots. Watch what gets exaggerated… and what quietly gets avoided. Watch the “solutions” they offer that still keep APRNs behind a gate.
Then ask yourself one question: Is this about patients… or is this access suppression?
Leave your comments. Share your thoughts. Pass it on to your colleagues, your students, your preceptors.
This is our moment — let’s show Ohio what united APRNs can do.
Watch the full testimony stream.
Video transcript:
APRNS, you need to hear what was said about you yesterday. Hey, everyone. Eric here with OAAPN. We need to talk about yesterday’s opponent testimony to House Bill 508, the bill that retires the outdated SCA contracts in Ohio. Because what you’ll hear matters. First, thank you to Representative Gross, Representative Baker, and every member of the House Medicaid Committee. Your questions showed leadership and balance and a real commitment to improving access. We appreciate you. Now, if you watched yesterday’s testimony, a very clear pattern emerged. A lot of dramatic stories, a lot of talking down APRN education and training and a lot of “only physicians can keep APRNs safe” narratives. But not one piece of Ohio data showing that the Standard Care Arrangement actually improves safety, improves outcomes, or overall access. And when those claims started to fall apart, the decoys started rolling in. “Make collaborators live in Ohio” or “ban the fees.” On the surface, it sounds helpful, but if you look closely, it keeps APRNs behind the same gate. New wrapping paper, same gatekeeping. And APRNs, this is the important part. A small group of opponents, not all physicians, but the ones who spoke to the policymakers described APRNs in a way that does not reflect who we are or reflect how we practice. You deserve to hear their words directly, not filtered, not summarized, but directly. So here’s our ask. Watch it for yourself. Share it. Tag someone who needs to see it. Comment about it and most importantly, talk about it with your colleagues, your students, your preceptors, your leaders. Because when you view that testimony through the lens of access suppression, the undertones become impossible to miss. And so does our need to stand together. Get involved and stay engaged. They talk about controlling APRNs. We’re talking about giving Ohioans access. And that’s how we win. More to come.