The Buckeye Institute’s policy solutions help Ohio fight the pandemic

Thanks to The Buckeye Institute, Ohio has adopted a number of free-market policy solutions that are helping the state respond to the coronavirus and protecting Ohio families and businesses.

In the early days of the pandemic, The Buckeye Institute leveraged its respected reputation and policy expertise to present Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and other policymakers in leadership positions, with policies solutions that would strengthen Ohio’s health care system and provide for families and businesses facing unexpected economic hardship, including increasing access to telehealth, which the administration immediately adopted.

These ideas and solutions have gained traction at the federal level as well. Buckeye’s president and CEO Robert Alt was invited to testify before the prestigious and influential National Coronavirus Recovery Commission where he offered important lessons from history as well as expert advice on working to ensure the durability of policy solutions beyond the pandemic and reminding leaders that Americans want paychecks, not stimulus checks.

While continuing to talk to state policymakers and presenting them with commonsense policy solutions, Buckeye published its first set of recommendations to boost Ohio’s health care system and support Ohio’s workers, small businesses, and the economy, “Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: How Ohio Can Fight the Impact of Coronavirus,” outlining actions Ohio policymakers needed take to ensure Ohio was ready to fight and recover from the pandemic. Buckeye also highlighted its policy solutions in an op-ed for The Columbus Dispatch.

In a column for the Washington Examiner, author Quin Hillyer cited Buckeye’s recommendations as an example of leadership coming from the states saying that while Buckeye’s “suggestions are Ohio-specific, other states certainly could, and in most cases probably should, emulate them.”

The Buckeye Institute didn’t stop there. Under the banner of Policy Solutions for the Pandemic, Buckeye continues to proactively produce commonsense, free-market solutions that are helping Ohio fight the pandemic and recover from the economic impact.

Ohio policymakers have responded and have adopted many of Buckeye’s solutions, including:

Increasing telehealth access and monitoring;
Extending universal recognition of out-of-state medical licenses to doctors and physician assistants;
Extending universal recognition of out-of-state medical licenses to nurses;
Permitting pharmacists to test for COVID-19;
Enlisting medical and nursing students to support doctors and nurses fighting COVID-19;
Beginning to eliminate unnecessary budget commitments;
Instituting a hiring freeze in state government; and
Allowing establishments with an existing liquor permit to sell and deliver alcohol on carryout menus.

As state governments across the country scramble to fight this virus and its economic impact, state think tanks play an important role in offering solutions. The Buckeye Institute’s executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy, Rea S. Hederman Jr., offered the following advice to state think tanks working to enact similar reforms in their states:

“Know who has the authority to enact your recommendation. It is often a governor, but it can be a state agency or a state licensing board. Your recommendations should be actionable with supporting evidence on how your policy recommendations can help save lives and prepare your state to weather the pandemic. Policymakers are looking for solutions that cut the red tape that impedes the delivery of healthcare.”

The coronavirus outbreak brings unprecedented challenges, but there is good news: states are in the best position to enact reforms that will help the people in their communities. As The Buckeye Institute demonstrates, state think tanks are offering meaningful policy solutions—and state policymakers are taking note.

Find all of Buckeye’s policy solutions for the pandemic here.