In this episode, Dan Skinner talks with State Rep. Justin Pizzulli, Republican from Scioto County, and Rep. Anita Somani, Democrat from Dublin, about the bill they are sponsoring to cap taxpayer funded vouchers for private schools at $500,000. As the discussion reveals, the issue is about fairness, fiscal responsibility, but also opens larger questions such as: should public money be transferred to private schools at all?

Dan talks with Dr. Zach Rossfeld, who is running for State Representative in the 7th House district. A hospice and palliative care physician, Zach talks about what his experience as both a physician and at the Ohio Department of Medicaid has taught him about what Ohio needs on the policy level, not only health policy, but housing, education, and beyond. Above all, Rossfeld calls for a radical recentering in the Statehouse of Ohioans' immediate needs even as we build longer term capacity.

Two items mentioned in the conversation:

Fleishman, What is the Relative Value of a Baby? (registration required)

Health Policy Institute of Ohio - 2026 Value Dashboard.

Dan talks with Rob Moore of Scioto Analysis about the recent surge in "affordability" talk. Is it economically meaningful, politically opportunistic, or a real sign that Americans and Ohioans are starting to ask deeper questions about inequality, poverty, and beyond?

Dan Skinner interviews Dr. Bryan Hambley, a Cincinnati-based oncologist who is running in the Democratic primary for Ohio Secretary of State. Dan and Bryan discuss the relationship between fair elections and better representation in Ohio, including how a more democratic system will help Ohio improve its poor health outcomes.

On episode 139, Dan Skinner talks with Emily Campbell, who recently began her service as President and CEO of the Center for Community Solutions after 16 years with the organization. Dan and Emily talk through the extensive (88--one for each Ohio county) fact sheets CCS recently released with data about the status of women in Ohio. Topics include economic barriers such as pay inequity, maternity deserts, policy hurdles to making Ohio an attractive state for aging in place, and more. Streams/notes/subscribe: www.prognosisohio.com/episodes/campbell.

Smoking is not only one of the top causes of death in Cleveland, but is a function of years of inequitable and racist policy, with devastating consequences for communities of color. Dan talks with Dr. David Margolius, Director of Public Health for the City of Cleveland, about his and others' efforts to get Cleveland’s horrendous smoking rates under control, especially by addressing flavored tobacco. Topics include the origins of Cleveland's extremely high smoking rates; the racial dimensions of the debate over menthol cigarettes; regulating tobacco after passage of Issue 2, which legalized cannabis in Ohio; and political barriers, in the Cleveland City Council and in the Ohio Statehouse to putting meaningful anti-smoking public health policies in place. Show notes, streams, and ways to support at prognosisohio.com.

Hosted and produced by Dan Skinner. Social media and production support by Nathaniel Powell. Prognosis Ohio is a member of the WCBE Podcast Experience and the Health Podcast Network. Prognosis Ohio is a production of Prognosis Ohio, LLC.

Rick Neal is a well-known progressive advocate in Central Ohio, but his political conscience has long been driven by his passion for and professional experience in humanitarian relief, especially in Asia and Africa. On Episode 137, taking a few weeks off from challenges here in Ohio, Dan Skinner talks with Rick about his experience as a humanitarian relief worker with Peace Corps, Oxfam, and Refugees International. Topics include the challenges of securing adequate funding, geopolitical complexities, and how to ensure Ohioans don't forget the serious crises that exist around the world, even as we tend to our own challenges here at home. Listen, as well, as Rick explains why medical and public health professionals in Ohio might consider jumping in to do this important work. Show notes and stream at prognosisohio.com/episodes/neal

Dan Skinner talks with Dr. Ayaz Hyder of Ohio State University’s College of Public Health and Gavin French of Columbus Public Health about their article, published in the Ohio Journal of Public Health, "Real-time Monitoring and Evaluation of the Vax Cash Program: A Case Study from Columbus, Ohio." Dan, Ayaz, and Gavin discuss the idea behind incentive programs such as Vax Cash, which provided cash to help individuals get vaccinated in the early months when COVID-19 vaccinations became available. Show notes at prognosisohio.com.

Just two weeks from November 7, the last date Ohioans can vote on Issue 1, a ballot initiative that will enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio constitution, Dan Skinner talks with Marcela Azevedo, MD, Co-Founder of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) about the state of the “Yes on Issue 1” movement. Topics include whether OPRR and issue 1 supporters have been able to cut through the noise and misinformation that have clouded voters’ understanding of what Issue 1 will do; the health stakes of Issue 1, including what we learned from the 82 days after Dobbs when abortion was illegal in Ohio; the significance of physician leadership on the issue of reproductive freedom; and more.

Show notes: www.prognosisohio.com/episodes/oprr

Hosted and produced by Dan Skinner. Social media and production support by Nathaniel Powell. Prognosis Ohio is a member of the WCBE Podcast Experience and the Health Podcast Network. Prognosis Ohio is a production of Prognosis Ohio, LLC.

Despite the immense loss and often nasty politics that set in a few months into Ohio’s pandemic response, former Director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton insists that there was far more love than hate in those early months. Despite the challenges we face, she wants Ohioans to reflect on how much they accomplished together and think about what the means for the state moving forward.

On Episode 134 of Prognosis Ohio, more than three years after she stepped down after leading Ohio’s COVID-19 response in 2020, Acton joins Prognosis Ohio to talk with Dan Skinner about what perspective and insight a few years of processing the experience have given her. Topics in the state of public health preparedness in Ohio, and what Ohio needs to do to start not only learning important lessons from our state’s collective experience with COVID, but to grieve. Acton also talks poignantly about the state of our democratic systems and the relationship between the malignant forces that stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2021 and the divisiveness and threats of violence that set in in Ohio in response to public health measures. Through all of this, Acton offers a number of reasons to have some hope. It’s an episode you won’t want to miss.

Links, Name Checks, and miscellany:

·     Read Dr. Acton’s Wikipedia entry here.

·     Read about Acton’s new project, with WKYC, “Health, Hope, and Healing.”

·     Acton mentions the book to which she and Dan both contributed, Ohio Under COVID. You can read it for free. Acton sat for an interview that became the Afterword. While Dan’s chapter (with Kathryn Poe) opens the book with a discussion of the gender politics of Acton’s time as the state’s health director.

·     Acton mentioned a “pandemic playbook” created by the George W. Bush administration. You can read about it in this Politico article.

·     Acton mentions a New Yorker piece for which she did interviews in 2019. You can read it here.

·     Dan mentions his conversation, from 2021, with Rick Hodges, former director of the Ohio Department of Health, who led the states response to the Ebola threat.

·     Acton mentions Josh Sharfstein’s important book, The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide, which includes a discussion of crisis communication in public health.

·     Listeners should also listen to our recent episode with Minority Leader Rep. Allison Russo, who has also been calling for a statewide study of Ohio’s COVID response.

·     Visit our archive of 35 Prognosis Ohio episodes addressing COVID-19 in some manner.

·     Acton mentions a COVID memorial in Great Seal State Park, in Chillicothe.

Hosted and produced by Dan Skinner. Audio engineering by Mike Foley. Video engineering by Columbus City Schools. Social media and production support by Nathaniel Powell. Prognosis Ohio is a member of the WCBE Podcast Experience and the Health Podcast Network. Prognosis Ohio is a production of Prognosis Ohio, LLC.