Callender Supports Bills Addressing COVID-19 Statistics, Increasing Healthcare Workforce, and Expanding Telemedicine

State Rep. Jamie Callender (R-Concord) voted in favor of various pieces of legislation during House session today including House Bills 163, 624, 673, and 679.  The bills address several important issue areas such as clarifying statistics released from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) regarding COVID-19, ramping up the healthcare workforce and access, enabling healthcare providers to fully utilize modern telemedicine, and ensuring that smaller governments are treated more fairly by larger governments regarding water access.

“Throughout this week, the Ohio House has worked diligently to get a variety of significant bills out of committee and to the floor,” said Callender. “These bills, along with others, will have a positive impact on Ohioans across the state by insuring we are better informed in our fight against COVID-19, have the flexibility necessary to meet medical and educational needs, and protect the little guy from the big guy when it comes to local governments accessing water.”

The four bills referenced will do the following:

-House Bill 163: Creates a process for withholding local government funds and state water and sewer assistance from municipal corporations that engage in certain water and sewer practices with respect to extraterritorial service.

-House Bill 624: Gathers more specifics on the figures being released by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) as it pertains to the coronavirus such as the number of confirmed cases that did not require medical care, patients who were treated and released, individuals tested negative, and several other categories.

-House Bill 673: Focuses on three areas of reopening and recovering from COVID-19: healthcare, education, and removing burdensome regulations.

• Healthcare: Pushes for ramping up the healthcare workforce and access by extending the suspension requirement that a prospective nurse pass the licensure examination and permit them to receive a temporary license to practice provided that they meet all other requirements until July 1, 2021.  States any hours a nurse works under a temporary license will count towards their clinical hours. Clinical hours are needed by the Ohio Board of Nursing before qualifying to take the nurses exam.  Expands the current law of allowing pharmacists to administer flu shots to individuals seven and older by including any future COVID-19 vaccine and allow pharmacists to also test for COVID-19 and any antibodies. It will also authorizes pharmacy interns and certified pharmacy technicians to do likewise, under the direct supervision of a pharmacist.
• Education: With many teacher education students not able to complete their teaching hours, the bill codifies guidance issued by the Department of Education to schools indicating that they should be flexible during the 2020-2021 academic year regarding the number of hours or weeks of field experience that a student must complete in order to be eligible for an education license or endorsement.
• Regulations: Removes burdensome regulations, first, by providing relief as it suspends professional development hours until Dec. 1, 2020 unless meetings are done virtually. Second, the bill enacts meaningful licensure reform to cosmetologists and barbers who have been impacted by COVID-19.

-House Bill 679: Enables healthcare providers to fully utilize modern telecommunications systems to care for patients both in and outside Ohioby expanding the list of providers allowing telemedicine services to include specialties, requiring providers offer secure video technologies, and setting procedures for reimbursing providers and ensures patients who elect to use telehealth services will see no changes in their out-of-pocket expenses.

All four bills passed out of the Ohio House earlier today and await further consideration in the Senate.