The Dave and Angie Patient and Health Provider Protection Act

2 provisions signed into law, 1 provision vetoed, all other provisions DIED 12-31-24

HB73: “The Dave and Angie Patient and Health Provider Protection Act”

The following provisions of HB 73 that were wrapped into the HB 315 “Christmas bill” have been SIGNED into LAW:

DeWine has line-item VETOED the “medical free speech” provision which said the following:

Despite this gross action by our Governor against 1st amendment protections for health providers, we will NOT stop FIGHTING to pass medical free speech and all of the other drug prescribing and filling protections that were in HB 73. We hope more Ohioans will join us in this fight by participating in upcoming calls to action and donating towards putting IN DISTRICT pressure on legislators like Senator Steve Huffman and Representative Matt Huffman so their voter base knows how they are working against them! It’s time to take government back for the PEOPLE.

HB 73 was essentially gutted by Senators Steve and Matt Huffman. An antithetical version of HB 73 was quickly passed out of committee and, just a few hours later, voted on the Senate floor with an 18 to 13 vote. This bait-and-switch version of HB 73 removed all provisions for expanding drug access in outpatient settings. Instead, it restricted access to hospital settings only during a public emergency and introduced a profoundly damaging provision granting pharmacists the legal right to refuse to fill a prescription—despite patient consent—based on a personal “scientific objection.” The Huffman version also limited healthcare providers’ free speech to discussions solely about off-label drugs.

You can watch OAMF President Stephanie Stock provide an update on this version of the bill after the committee meeting here:

The Senate-passed version was sent back to the House that evening, where the representatives refused to concur by a vote of 88 to 3 due to the bill being so severely altered. You can watch the floor speech of our champion bill sponsor here:

HB 73 was supposed to go into a conference committee where Representative Gross, Chairman Steve Huffman, and other appointed committee members would negotiate an agreement on which parts of the bill could be reconsidered for a vote.

Representative Gross requested that the portions of the bill unrelated to the filling of prescriptions be adhered to precisely as written prior to the Senate’s destruction of the bill’s original intent. However, Chairman Huffman and Senate President Matt Huffman would only agree to the following provisions: the free speech provision, the provision affirming that the World Health Organization has no jurisdiction, and the provision stating that hospitals must not deny food and nutrition. They were adamant in refusing to include protections for physician licensure related to off-label treatments.

Instead of calling for a conference committee, Senate leadership inserted the only three provisions they would agree to into HB 315, a “Christmas tree” catch-all bill. Because this bill contained financial provisions, it allowed the governor to exercise a line-item veto on specific sections.

Senate President Huffman delayed sending the bill to the Governor’s desk, preventing House and Senate members from reconvening for a veto override. Governor DeWine DID veto the “free medical speech” section of the bill.

Because Matt Huffman did not promptly deliver HB 315 to the Governor’s desk, as Speaker Stephens did, there was no hope for a veto override.

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