Walmart Health Closing All Clinics

In a sharp reversal of strategy, Walmart announced it will close all of its health clinics and end its virtual care platform.  According to an article published in Modern Healthcare on April 30, 2024, the retail giant attributed this shutdown of Walmart Heath to reimbursement challenges and escalating operating costs that made the business model unstainable.  Walmart Health operated 51 clinics that provided primary care, dental, behavioral health, lab, X-ray, and telehealth services.  All 51 clinics currently in operations will close within the next 90 days.  Walmart will continue to operate its pharmacies and vision centers.

US Poised to Ease Restrictions on Marijuana in Historic Shift, But It'll Remain Controlled Substance

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country.

The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation's most dangerous drugs.

However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use. Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. The proposal would move marijuana to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids. After the public comment period and a review by an administrative judge, the agency would eventually publish the final rule. Federal drug policy has lagged behind many states in recent years, with 38 having already legalized medical marijuana and 24 legalizing its recreational use.

The Ohio Council Welcomes New Affiliate Member, IronRoad

IronRoad in Cincinnati, Ohio - Billy Southerland, CEO, can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at (513) 716-4600. 

IronRoad is a Professional Employer Organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio serving across all industries for the past 27 years.  IronRoad provides a variety of Fortune 100 services including payroll processing, tax filings, workers’ compensation insurance, human resources guidance and administration, and employee benefits plans and administration.

Click here to learn more about IronRoad!

Nonprofits Take a Hit in House Earmark Rules

House appropriators have made it more difficult for members to secure fiscal 2025 earmarks for some social services programs in their districts, according to new guidance Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., announced Thursday. Nonprofits are now blocked from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative grant program, which is where lawmakers of both parties turned after earmarks were banned completely from the Labor-HHS-Education bill last year. Republicans took issue with earmarks that aided the LGBTQ community that House Democrats had sought in the Transportation-HUD bill last year, and Cole has said he wants to eliminate “political” earmarks. Under the new guidance for the EDI account, only state, local and tribal governments are eligible, along with public colleges and universities. EDIs, which receive grants out of HUD’s Community Development Fund, were the largest single source of earmarks in final fiscal 2024 appropriations, at nearly $3.3 billion.