Leadership

Manufacturers Inform Ohio Prescription Drug Council

At a meeting this week of the DeWine administration’s Ohio Prescription Drug Transparency and Affordability Council, of which OMA is a member, presenters discussed the mechanisms of drug pricing in the U.S. The council is tasked with issuing a report this fall on the state’s pharmaceutical purchasing.

Kipp Snider, national vice president for state policy, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), gave a presentation to panelists focusing on the following: manufacturers’ commitment to beat the coronavirus; an overview of medicine spending and costs – highlighting that medicine only represents 14% of total health spending and that prices grew just 0.3% in 2018 after discounts and rebates; PhRMA’s commitment to policy solutions to help patients pay less for medicines; an overview of PhRMA’s Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT) – a web platform designed to help patients, caregivers and health care providers learn about resources that assist in accessing medicines.

Specifically regarding the fight against coronavirus, America’s biopharmaceutical companies are committed to developing solutions to help diagnose and treat those with COVID-19. Snider highlighted the landmark agreement between OMA member AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford to globally develop and distribute the potential vaccine. As reported, U.S. doses will, in part, be manufactured at the West Chester, Ohio facility. Here are some of the progressive efforts that PhRMA members have undertaken to help defeat the coronavirus. 7/9/2020

Webinar: New Opportunities for Ohio Exporters to Mexico

On Wednesday, July 15 Efren Flores, director of Ohio’s Mexico Office will present a webinar covering: history and benefits of NAFTA and now USMCA; a review of major differences between USMCA and NAFTA; new rules of origin, customs and logistics between Mexico and the U.S.; concerns and challenges for the automotive and aerospace industries; and what to expect in the near future. There is no charge. Register here. 7/6/2020

Free One-Year Subscription to Manufacturers Marketplace

Manufacturers Marketplace — a collaboration among the National Association of Manufacturers and state manufacturing associations — connects manufacturers in the U.S. A searchable database of 140,000 manufacturers, the Marketplace can help manufacturers expand sales and strengthen supply chains.

By joining in July or August, you can access a free one-year subscription to Manufacturers Marketplace.

• Search more than 140,000 U.S. manufacturing companies.
• Filter searches by state, city, product, process, capability, certification, NAICS, and SIC codes.
• Post RFP/RFQ/RFI in the Connection Center.

How to join:

1. Go to Manufacturers Marketplace and click on ‘Create An Account’ (top right of the page).
2. Fill out the needed information and use the promo code: COVID80.

Questions? Please contact Marketplace account manager, David Smart, at 800-560-2857 or via email. Informational videos can be found here. 7/6/2020

How Many Voted in Your Congressional District in 2018?

This interactive graphic uses Census Bureau population characteristics data from the American Community Survey and counts of votes cast from the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives to highlight the percent of citizens who voted for congressional representatives in 2018 and the characteristics of the citizen voting-age population for each congressional district.

Zoom in to see state-level data. 7/6/2020

Immunity Bill Clears Senate (Again); All Eyes on House

In an effort to advance stalled legislation that would protect businesses from COVID-related lawsuits, the Ohio Senate this week amended and approved House Bill 606, which now goes back to the House. The Senate’s action potentially sets up yet another conference committee, unless the House accepts the Senate’s changes. The amended bill was approved 23-6 along partisan lines.

Among the Senate’s changes to HB 606 was the removal of a House-approved, union-driven provision that would have expanded workers’ compensation by shifting the burden of proof to the employer and eliminating an employer’s defenses. As noted in OMA testimony, this would have especially burdened food and beverage manufacturers. Fortunately, the Senate restored the provision to current law, which is working.

The House is not scheduled to return to Columbus until mid-September. The OMA is urging House lawmakers to finish the job soon to provide Ohio businesses with some protection during the recovery. The OMA applauds Senate President Larry Obhof and members of his caucus for taking action on HB 606 before the summer recess. 7/1/2020

RSM Manufacturing Index Shows ‘Remarkable Rebound’ in Industry Sentiment

OMA Connections Partner RSM reports that its Manufacturing Outlook Index shows “a remarkable rebound of sentiment in the U.S. manufacturing industry.” The RSM index, which anticipates the direction of manufacturing activity, is a composite of six regional Federal Reserve banks’ monthly surveys.

RSM cautions that “while the worst might be behind us, the index remains slightly negative … (and) suggests that a national recovery has yet to materialize. Moreover, damage to the manufacturing sector wrought by pullbacks and shutdowns of business across the economy due to an intensification of the pandemic will appear in the July sentiment and survey data, thus we do urge caution in interpreting the data going forward.” 6/30/2020

Tendon Manufacturing Named Top Workplace

Congratulations to OMA member Tendon Manufacturing, which has been named the No. 1 workplace among small companies in Greater Cleveland for 2020, according to Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. This is the fourth consecutive year it has been named a top workplace on the publication’s “Top Workplaces” list. 6/29/2020

A Look at Key Changes Under USMCA

On July 1, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) went into effect. It will have a significant impact on manufacturers across North America as they re-analyze their products to determine whether they qualify for duty-free treatment. See OMA Connections Partner Thompson Hine’s analysis of the key changes under the new trade deal, including significant changes for the automotive industry. 7/1/2020

Are You Ready to Comply With USMCA?

As the July 1 implementation date of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement nears, many are approaching it as just a “new NAFTA” without fully understanding key changes. OMA Connections Partner Plante Moran — which says many of its clients have expressed confusion over how the new trade deal will directly impact their business — has published this FAQ page addressing USMCA compliance.

Also, OMA Connections Partner Thompson Hine is offering a free webinar at 2 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, July 1, titled “Supply Chains: Issue-Spotting, Tips and Best Practices for Maximizing USMCA Benefits.” 6/24/2020

OMA Reiterates Need to Remove Amendment From House’s COVID-19 Immunity Bill

This week, the OMA told members of an Ohio Senate panel that if a harmful workers’ compensation amendment is not stripped from a bill that seeks to protect businesses from COVID-related lawsuits, the provision would plague food and beverage producers — who were specifically targeted by the amendment to House Bill 606, passed in late May.

“The last thing we should do is burden (these manufacturers) with potentially ruinous new costs,” the OMA told lawmakers. Attorney Ann Marie Sferra of OMA general counsel Bricker & Eckler echoed the sentiments on behalf of the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice.

It’s not too late to take action. The OMA remains hopeful that the Senate will revise the bill and send it back to the House for final approval without the workers’ compensation amendment. 6/25/2020