In Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: Universal Occupational Licensing Reciprocity will Strengthen Ohio’s Health Care System, The Buckeye Institute called on Ohio to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact and then remove additional barriers to medical care by adopting universal occupational license reciprocity.
Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, saying, “The March jobs report marks the initial impacts COVID-19 has had on Ohio’s economy. With an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent and private sector job losses of 36,300, these figures will only get worse in the coming months.”
Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, issued a statement calling on Ohio policymakers to outline the specific metrics, benchmarks, and criteria they are using to determine when and how Ohioans can safely return to work, saying, “Ohio’s businesses deserve advanced notice in order to complete the reopening process safely, and workers and customers need to have confidence that they can return to their previous routines.”
In Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: Using the Rainy Day Fund to Fight COVID-19’s Impact, The Buckeye Institute urged policymakers to strategically use Ohio’s rainy day fund to weather the invisible COVID-19 storm, but only after eliminating unnecessary state spending and answering Governor Mike DeWine’s call to cut government budgets by at least 20 percent.
In Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: Enhancing Education with Education Savings Accounts, The Buckeye Institute calls on the U.S. Department of Education to create education savings accounts for every K-12 student in America. These accounts would immediately help parents with unanticipated education costs during the pandemic and would help students keep up with their learning.
The Buckeye Institute filed public comments in response to the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s proposed rule that would give federal employees who are union members the freedom to leave the union at any time after one year of employment.
In Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: Redirecting State Resources to Fight COVID-19, The Buckeye Institute identifies nearly $3 billion in Ohio’s bloated state budget that could be used to fight against the pandemic and its aftermath. Tough spending cuts, repurposed funding, and strategic tax reforms should all be used to see Ohio through these trying times.
In Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: Lifting Restrictions on Nurses to Fight COVID-19, The Buckeye Institute calls for Ohio to end the collaborative supervision requirements that prevent advanced practice registered nurses from offering the medical care they have been trained and licensed to provide.
In Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: Enlisting Pharmacists to Fight COVID-19, The Buckeye Institute outlines how Ohio can relieve some of the burdens on other health care workers by allowing pharmacists to test for COVID-19 and treat common illnesses.
In The Columbus Dispatch, Buckeye’s Rea Hederman looks at policy solutions that can get Ohio through the pandemic. Hederman writes, “Responding to COVID-19 requires leadership, fortitude, cooperation and clear thinking. It requires public officials, businesses, volunteer organizations and individuals working together with our health care communities to keep our families healthy and our economy strong. This can and will be done, and Ohio will make a full recovery.”
