News & Advocacy

State & Federal Election Update: Post-Election Advocacy

posted: November 10, 2016

The OAR has been preparing to engage lawmakers post-election as session in the House and Senate is scheduled to reconvene beginning next week. Step therapy and biosimilar substitution legislation are the two main priorities the OAR has been advocating for since educating lawmakers back in April at the Joint Capitol Day in Columbus with the Arthritis Foundation.

• Step Therapy (HB443/SB243): Both bills are still in their original committees waiting to be discussed and called for a vote. The OAR and other advocates have been targeting committee members and the Senate Medicaid Committee Chair, Sen. Dave Burke, to ask for the bill to be heard. Getting the bill to move through both chambers with few session days left will prove to be a challenge, but with enough support it can be done.
• Biosimilar Substitution (HB505): Meetings with state senators, the chamber in which the bill now sits, have been productive and informative. Legislators on the Senate Health Committee have generally expressed support for the bill. Bill sponsors are working hard to make HB 505 a priority to pass before the end of the year.

As always, OAR legislative staff will continue to monitor all relevant legislation and will update OAR membership as required.

View the Legislative Calendar