CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- We’re living in both an exciting and challenging time when it comes to modern health care. New innovations are leading to exciting medical breakthroughs, treating conditions in ways we never could have imagined, and helping Ohioans live longer than ever. However, high sticker prices and unprecedented demand for these advances are adding to a worrying trend in the state – growing concern over rising health care costs. A recent survey found that 80% of adults in Ohio worry about affording health care in the future. When I talk to small business owners in northern Ohio, that number is closer to 100%.
The General Assembly has heard these calls and is working to address costs in the state. Unfortunately, previous failed attempts by the legislature, like last session’s House Bill 505, missed the mark and would have added more regulations and fees on Ohio businesses, employees and all Ohioans if passed. HB 505 contained a provision that is often discussed as a solution to the financial plight of independent pharmacies by legislators: increasing the drug-dispensing fee on prescriptions. A dispensing fee is a sum paid by the consumer to the pharmacy on every prescription filled and is sometimes referred to as a “pill tax.” Depending on an individual’s health care plan makeup, the dispensing fee is paid by the employee, the employer or a combination of the two.
Instead of mandating a subsidy from small businesses and employees to benefit independent pharmacies in the state, lawmakers should focus on the very relevant issue the business community is sounding the alarm on – health care costs are too high.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy recently launched a new, interactive dashboard to monitor pharmacy trends across the state. In 2024, the only pharmacies to close were large chain pharmacies, primarily because of the Rite Aid bankruptcy and subsequent closing of more than 180 stores in the state. While these closings were unfortunate, it was encouraging to learn that not a single independent, retail pharmacy across the state closed last year. In fact, the dashboard shows that 34 new independent pharmacies have opened over the course of the year.
Pharmacists are key members of our communities, and our health care teams, with patients interacting with them twice as often as their primary care physicians. Sometimes reaching out to a pharmacist about side effects or scheduling your flu shot at the pharmacy counter just makes our lives easier. That’s why convenient access to pharmacies benefits everyone, and the Board of Pharmacy data is clear – patients in Ohio are being well-served by a robust, competitive pharmacy market.
Cindy Holzheimer is the president and CEO of Northern Ohio Area Chambers of Commerce.Northern Ohio Area Chambers of Commerce
We should all support our local hometown businesses, including independent pharmacies, and solve problems when they arise. But many policies being proposed in Columbus and in Washington, D.C., aimed at lowering the cost of health care will actually raise prices, especially for our small businesses that are fighting to survive among inflation and changing demand. Unfortunately, any legislation that includes mandated dispensing fees will lead to the unintended consequences of more Ohioans struggling to afford their health care.
My message to lawmakers representing Ohio is this: Addressing skyrocketing health care costs won’t be solved by passing more regulations and mandating fees paid for on the backs of small businesses. Let’s come together and find solutions that actually lead to lower costs and provide relief for Ohioans.
Cindy Holzheimer is the president and CEO of Northern Ohio Area Chambers of Commerce, representing 140 chambers of commerce in Ohio.
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