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Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio pharmacy measure will make closures ‘explode,' group says
A pharmacy manager retrieves a bottle of antibiotics. (Photo by) Compromise budget language hashed out this week by an Ohio House-Senate committee will make problems hurting Ohio pharmacies infinitely worse, the leader of a group that represents them said Thursday. He added that the Ohio Chamber of Commerce — which advocated part of the legislation — seemed blind to the effect it would have on member businesses by making it more difficult for employees to access medicine. As it works against a June 30 budget deadline, a House-Senate conference committee approved an amendment that keeps part of a bill meant to help ailing pharmacies but slashes another. The result, said Dave Burke, a pharmacist, former state senator, and executive director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association, will be that pharmacies will go from earning scant profits to none at all. 'It's any pharmacist's suicide bill,' he said Thursday. Ohio pharmacies have been in trouble for years. They've complained of high fees and low reimbursements from huge middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Last year, Ohio lost 215 pharmacies and their total number dropped below 2,000 for the first time in memory, according to an online tracker launched by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. As pharmacies disappear, they create a lack of access that is particularly hard on the poor, elderly and disabled. Not only do they get their medicine at what are often main-street businesses. They also get professional medical advice about chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. PBMs, the middlemen, decide which drugs are covered, and they use a non-transparent system to decide how much to reimburse pharmacies that dispense them. The three biggest control nearly 80% of the marketplace. As pharmacies close, Ohio Chamber blasted for siding with middlemen Each of those companies is part of a Fortune 15 health conglomerate that also owns a top-10 health insurer. CVS owns the largest retail pharmacy chain and all three own mail-order pharmacies. So, when the big PBMs decide reimbursements, impose rules and charge fees, they're doing so for their own pharmacies and their competitors. That's a glaring conflict of interest, their critics say. There have been abuses in Ohio. In 2018, the Ohio Department of Medicaid peeled back the curtain and learned that a year earlier CVS and UnitedHealth's PBM, OptumRx, charged taxpayers $224 million more for drugs than they paid the pharmacies that had dispensed them. The Medicaid department fired the PBMs. In 2022 it got rid of their hidden, seemingly arbitrary system of reimbursement in which the same companies sometimes pay 500 different prices for the same drug. Instead, prices are determined by a public survey published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the National Drug Acquisition Cost, or NADAC. With pharmacies no longer losing money on some drugs and making it on others, the Medicaid department set a $10 per-prescription dispensing fee to cover pharmacies' overhead. Even with the increased dispensing fees, an analysis said the state saved $140 million from the reforms. Ohio state Rep. Tim Barhorst, R-Fort Laramie, this year proposed to use the same arrangement in many non-Medicaid transactions. That measure made it into the Ohio House budget, but then ran into opposition in the Ohio Senate, where the Ohio Chamber had been telling members the dispensing-fee requirement was a tax. What emerged from the conference committee late Wednesday might have seemed like a compromise to its members. It kept the provision that drug reimbursements would be based on NADAC, the publicly available price list, but it got rid of dispensing fees. To Burke and other Ohio pharmacists, it's the worst of both worlds. Not only couldn't they profit from over-reimbursements under the traditional, non-transparent system, they also couldn't cover overhead from a fixed dispensing fee. Of the measure agreed to by the conferees, Burke said, 'That proposition only works with a second proposition — the dispensing fee. Because the bag, the bottle, the lid, the pharmacist, the tech, the lights, the heat and the air conditioning all have a cost. In any business model, whether it's medications, pizzas or cars… you can't buy ingredients for a dollar and sell pizzas for a dollar and stay in business.' He predicted that if it becomes law, there will be a mass exodus from the already depleted ranks of Ohio pharmacies. 'If pharmacies can't make any money — this legislation makes it so that you're not making any money at all — it would probably force the closure of the overwhelming majority of pharmacies in this state,' Burke said. 'Even a child mowing yards is not going to buy a dollar's worth of gas and accept a dollar to mow your yard.' Once conferees agree on a budget, Gov. Mike DeWine has the power to veto line-items in it. Burke said he hoped the governor would consider such a move. 'I think the governor's office would be well placed to consider a veto and we will be expressing our concerns that the legislation is flawed, and that if he doesn't, the amount of pharmacy closures in Ohio in the next weeks if not months will explode,' Burke said. Dan Tierney, DeWine's press secretary, was non-committal when asked about the matter. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'We have not received final budget language but will be reviewing the final language when received,' he said in an email Thursday. Burke didn't accuse any of his former colleagues of ill-intent in agreeing to the measure. 'I think they believed that if they stepped in and said we'll make sure you get paid what you paid for the drug that will fix everything,' Burke said. 'But this legislation takes everything you made a profit on and brings it to zero.' However, he did say he was mystified about the Ohio Chamber's reasons for intervening in the matter. 'I don't know where the chamber adopted its stance from, but it's hard for me, as an independent business owner, to understand why major employers would want to increase their employees' difficulty getting medications.' Burke was incensed that the Ohio Chamber would call dispensing fees — payments to cover overhead — a tax. 'It's amazing to me that the chamber should take the position that business owners should not make a profit,' he said. 'I thought the Ohio Chamber was all about profit, pro-business and competitive markets. But they've adopted the position that this particular sector of business owners should not make any money. They consider the dispensing fee to be a tax. So apparently, any profit that any business makes is a tax. Maybe they've gone socialist over there. I don't understand. Maybe they're not looking at their own pharmacy benefit with any understanding.' The Ohio Chamber didn't immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment. But earlier this week, Senior Vice President Rick Carfagna said the goal was to protect Ohio businesses from paying too much to underwrite employees' drugs. There are, however, questions about the body's relationship with the giant conglomerates that own the PBMs. For example CVS Health was a 'presenting sponsor' of the Chamber's 2024 Healthcare Summit, Among the questions the Ohio Chamber didn't immediately respond to was how much CVS paid to sponsor the event — or how much the chamber had received from the big-three conglomerates over the past five years. In earlier responses, Carfagna didn't address the growing number of pharmacy deserts in Ohio, or that struggling independent and small-chain pharmacies are themselves small businesses that the Ohio Chamber says it wants to protect. Burke said all the Ohio Chamber's members will be harmed if the conference committee language becomes law and mass closures result. That would mean sicker employees with difficulties getting medicine. 'I hope the Chamber actually goes and speaks with the people they're supposed to represent and see if this policy position is reflective of the way they want to treat their employees,' Burke said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Issue 2: Voters approve infrastructure bond issue
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio voters approved continuing to fund the state's major infrastructure projects through a $2.5 billion bond issue on the primary election ballot Tuesday. Issue 2 will, through a state constitutional amendment, allow Ohio to issue bonds to help local governments pay for infrastructure projects, including roads and bridges, wastewater treatment plants, and more, via the State Capital Improvement Program. 'Our members think infrastructure is important because they drive on the roads every day, and they want them to be safe and they want them to be, to have good quality roads so they don't damage our cars or trucks or commercial vehicles,' Ohio Chamber of Commerce President Steve Stivers said. A 'yes' vote on the ballot extended the bond issue. Which school issues central Ohio voters approved in May 2025 election 'Issue 2 is important for local infrastructure. Issue 2 will help create about 35,000 good-paying jobs, mostly construction jobs,' Stivers said. The program will fund $2.5 billion over 10 years, or $250 million per year, for those projects. This is an increase in funding of $50 million per year. While the bond issues won't increase residents' taxes, those state taxes would be used to pay down the bond issues over a possible 30-year period. 'We have lots of discussions about what we should spend money on, obviously, but almost all Ohioans agree on roads and bridges and infrastructure, and all Ohioans benefit,' Ohio Speaker of the House Matt Huffman said. The bond program was first instituted in 1987, with voters approving it three times since – in 1995, 2005, and 2014. That first bond issue was for $120 million per year. Election results are unofficial until certified by their county's board of elections. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Childcare issues lead to annual $5 billion loss for Ohio's economy
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio's lack of affordable childcare isn't just hurting families — it's costing the state's economy nearly $5.5 billion in untapped taxes and employer earnings each year, according to the new report 'Untapped Potential in Ohio.' 'You add all of that up and it just shows that not properly addressing the scarcities and the costs involved with childcare in this state is a really big and expensive problem,' said Rick Carfagna, senior vice president for government affairs at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. The study is led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation in collaboration with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the nonprofit Groundwork Ohio. Carfagna said this is a difficult crisis to tackle because it's caused by several issues. Ohio lawmakers debate whether to ban fluoride from public drinking water 'First of all, it's too scarce and when you can find it, it's too expensive,' he said. 'We just simply don't have enough supply in the state either of center-based child care or in-home childcare.' He added that there are not enough people entering the early childhood workforce. 'It's unfortunately a low-wage job and so it's hard to entice people when you're competing with other industries like retail,' Carfagna said. Lastly, he said there aren't enough eligible families for publicly funded childcare. 'We are ranked the lowest in the country when it comes to qualifying at your income levels for publicly funded childcare,' he said. To be eligible, families must be at or below 145% of the Federal Poverty Level. 'We have an entire demographic of Ohioans right now that are educated,' Carfagna said. 'They're skilled. They're hard-working. They're everything you would want in a reliable employee and they're not even looking for work because they've done the math. They've calculated that bringing in an additional paycheck into their household that goes right back out the door to pay for childcare doesn't make economic sense for their family.' This report has been done in several other states as well. 'Some states have it much worse than us,' Carfagna said. 'Some states, especially the surrounding states, have it better than us. But when I say better it's not as horrible as us.' According to these reports, Michigan is losing $2.9 billion each year in economic potential, Indiana is seeing a $4.2 billion hit annually and Pennsylvania misses out on $3.4 billion. 'They also have greater investments in the state in some of the childcare offerings,' Carfagna said. 'They have higher thresholds to qualify for publicly funded childcare and that's a really key measure that we hope Ohio will take a really strong look at.' Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has proposed several measures in the state budget that could help, including increasing the maximum income for families to qualify for publicly funded childcare, a child tax credit and a tax hike on cigarettes to pay for that credit. 'We want our leaders to know that workforce is top of mind throughout the entire business community and the key to the workforce is making sure that people can return to work and have affordable and accessible childcare,' Carfagna said. Ohio House members adopted their version of the budget recently and those initiatives were eliminated. The budget remains in debate stages but must pass by the end of June. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reactions mixed to DeWine's State of the State
Mar. 16—The Center Square COLUMBUS — Business groups, policy organizations and Democrats found things to like about Ohio Gov. Mike De-wine's State of the State Address on Wednesday. But there were concerns, as well. During Wednesday's address, DeWine focused squarely on past and future job growth and developing a workforce to meet demands. He called the state's workforce its greatest opportunity and greatest challenge. He announced former Ohio State football coach and recently inaugurated Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel will develop Ohio's Workforce Playbook to examine the job needs and training in every region in the state. Business groups applauded DeWine's focus on workforce development and reduced regulations, calling the state's ongoing worker shortage one of the top problems facing businesses around the state. "The number one issue we hear from our members is the need for a ready and capable workforce. We appreciate Gov. DeWine's continued commitment to workforce development and to improving our state's business climate," Ohio Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Shivers said. DeWine's focus comes as the National Federation of Independent Business' latest jobs report showed 38% of small business owners have job openings they can't fill, the highest mark since August. At the same time, 53% of owners say they were hiring or tried to hire in February. "The continuing worker shortage is a top problem for Ohio's small businesses, so we are thankful that Gov. DeWine has made strengthening our workforce a priority of his administration and is tasking Lieutenant Governor Tressel to focus on identifying the job, skill set, education, and talent needs in each region of Ohio to assist Main Street," Chris Ferruso, NFIB Ohio state director, said. Democrats, however, remain concerned about a lack of attention to growing grocery prices and housing costs. "The future of Ohio is dependent on the decisions made by Ohio's lawmakers while crafting this biennial budget. But for all the good this budget does do, there is still much more work to be done. Nothing in the governor's budget addresses the fact that prices are still too high at the grocery store, at the pharmacy, and for Ohioans struggling to afford quality housing and higher education," House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said. "When we put People First, we are putting Ohioans at the center of every decision. We are focusing on the issues that matter most: better pay, better healthcare, fairer taxes, safer communities, affordable housing, real opportunities, and a secure economic future."
