OHIO BILL H.B. 73
The Dave & Angie Patient & Health Provider Protection Act
Dave, 65, and Angie Plant, 54, died 8 days apart in Ohio in September of 2021, leaving behind 4 children, ranging in age from 17 to mid-20's. Both of them had refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine, waiting for more data to emerge. The family believes that they were treated differently because they were not vaccinated. This was proven true when Angie's brother went into the same hospital several weeks later with Covid-19, as a vaccinated patient, receiving completely different care and came home to his family.
Angie's sister, Crystal Boles, has teamed up with Stephanie Stock, President of her Chapter of Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom, OAMF.org, to try and pass a bill that guarantees doctors the right to prescribe what they choose for their patients. Opening the door to FDA approved drugs that may be used off-label, legal in Ohio, not a controlled substance, without fear of threats against the doctor's license. It also prevents patients from being refused fluids or foods, as this was the norm in hospitals during the pandemic.
On the OAMF site, under “MORE” there is a list of legislative actions, you will see H.B. 73, the Dave and Angie Patient and Health Provider Protection Act. There is a short description of what the bill is designed for. The bill itself can be seen on the Ohio Legislature website: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/135/hb73
How would this even be a question in America? Things have changed gradually since the passage of The Affordable Care Act, first slowly but then all at once during the pandemic. If you or a loved one has been in a hospital or under doctor's care, you might have noticed something is “different”. Initially it started out that insurance companies are the only ones that choose your treatment, many people have had to wait for medications or tests while the doctor has to go to bat for the patient's rights. In March of 2020, the federal government (NIH) issued the ONLY approved treatments for use on patients with or suspected to have Covid-19. Because of that in most cases patients were refused simple things like vitamins, supplements or even their previously prescribed maintenance medications for existing conditions.
Crystal had spent hours researching treatments that other doctors were using. One of the most reliable in healing inflamed lungs is Budesonide, a nebulized, inhaled steroid. It is FDA approved, in use for years, particularly in Neonatal Intensive Care Units for the underdeveloped lungs of preemie babies. It is also used by some asthmatics and pneumonia patients.
Angie had just lost her husband, down the hallway in the same hospital she was in. He had been on a ventilator, she absolutely wasn't going to use the vent but needed help breathing. When Crystal advocated for Budesonide, she was told they did not have any at the hospital. Crystal eventually called the hospital pharmacy and asked if they had any and was told yes, they had plenty. Angie never received it.
Why would you need legislation to change this and wouldn't it be a no-brainer to pass it anyway? Well the Ohio House passed it quickly and efficiently. Since then it has been tied up in committee, stonewalled by several State Senators, the most prominent of these being State Senator Stephen Huffman, Chair of the Health Committee. In hearings he has been known to leave the room for extended periods, right in the middle of health advocates testifying, chatting with his colleagues or just being distracted with is phone.
The opponents of the bill have all been related to hospital industry, pharmaceutical industry or physician related industries. While this doesn't surprise anyone it has come to light that Mr. Huffman MAY have a conflict of interest in being the head of the definitive committee that will decide if this bill lives or dies. There is money at stake for Mr. Huffman and his next campaign for office, if he doesn't protect the interests of these industries.
https://www.opensecrets.org/officeholders/stephen-a-huffman/summary?cycle=2023&id=2804924
As an example, State Senators who are actively (by not acting) preventing H.B. 73 from being passed out of Committee are Senator Terry Johnson and Senator Mark Romanchuk. You can investigate the others from the list of emails below if you choose.
https://www.opensecrets.org/officeholders/terry-a-johnson/contributors?cycle=2023&id=6687656
When searching on this site the filters can be adjusted for date range. Even better if you start at opensecrets.org and search for the politician's name you get multiple categories to choose from related to who is financially invested in them.
At an Ohio Senate Health Committee Proponent Hearing in May, Attorney Tom Renz, tomrenz.com, spoke passionately about the absolute destruction of the NIH protocols, related to him by the patient's families that have contacted him during the pandemic, trying to save their loved ones. After the hearing he pointed out that if this bill passes into law it will make Ohio a “control group” within the United States. Simply because their citizens wouldn't be under the dictates of the federal health agencies, particularly during a pandemic. Which group of patients have the best outcomes, the ones under the federal/insurance based mandates or the ones under physician based care? Needless to say, insurance companies aren't happy either.
Stephanie Stock has also had TX Dr. Richard Bartlett testify at the hearings in favor of H.B. 73. He used multiple therapies for Covid-19 patients throughout the pandemic, all of them centered around nebulized Budesonide. See budesonideworks.com
It is a proven therapy, saving patients from entering the hospital and healing their lungs even if they were already vented, provided it is used correctly. Because it is not on the NIH protocols, most hospitals balk at using it, requiring legal intervention or only using it every 12 hours as opposed to the recommended every 4 hours.
Currently the Senators themselves are on a summer break. When they come back they will be operating on a limited schedule between the election and Christmas. We can't let them ignore this bill or it will expire completely. Now is the time to put heavy pressure on them to pass it out of Committee so that the full Senate can vote on it.
The email addresses below are the people that need to be contacted. Make sure you share this information. Force them to be the first in the nation to take this giant step towards protecting their citizens, then move forward in your own state, using Ohio as the precedent.
Activism works best closer to home, maybe if we help the people of Ohio we can start a ball rolling at home. Make sure you share this information. You can bet the average citizen of Ohio doesn't know what they can do to take their power back, one bill at a time.
Great to have a Bill in your state providing freedom for physicians to give any and all meds he/she thinks is good for use, but in this instance, I feel there is definitely grounds for mal-practice suet. This family has a L-o-n-g road ahead from losing both parents. This was just hospital ego that killed this man & woman. How devastating. Very saddening for any and all who have been un-treated well and cause of death. It is a struggle for me and I pray each day, that I will be able to forgive these humans who have lost their souls to treating in the 'big pharma' greed machine. I really feel there is no more empathy left in the medical careers.