News & Advocacy

Step Therapy Legislation Nears Finish Line

posted: December 11, 2018

In a huge win for Ohio advocates, two important pieces of step therapy legislation have been voted out of committee. House Bill 72 and Senate Bill 56 were introduced in February but sat in committee until late last week.

Both bills seek to improve step therapy protocols in Ohio by balancing cost with patient needs. SB56, sponsored by Senator Lehner and Senator Tavares, was voted out of the Health, Human Services and Medicaid committee on December 5th. Later that day, the Senate also passed the bill and it was introduced in the House. HB72 was passed unanimously by the Health Committee and now awaits a vote from the full House.

Over 50 patient and provider associations have expressed support of the bills. The Ohio Step Therapy Coalition previously held a Step Therapy Awareness Day on November 13, 2018. After months of awaiting movement, it is great news that these bills have finally made big progress towards being made into law.

The OAR is closely monitoring SB56 and HB72 and will issue updates as needed.