Ohio Politics Today: Should medics stop responding to overdoses?; Senate releases health bill details

Here’s a look at today’s top political stories from around Ohio and Washington.

Getting tough on drug overdoses

Frustration with the escalating opiate epidemic is growing, along with costs for localities and emergency medical services.

Middletown City Council member Dan Picard asked during this week's meeting if the city was bound by law to respond to overdoses.

Picard noted people with cancer don’t get free treatment, neither do people suffering heart attacks get free bypasses.

City manager Doug Adkins said the city is en route to spending $100,000 on NARCAN this year after budgeting $10,000 for 2017.

Details release on Senate health care bill

Senate Republicans released details of its version of the GOP Congressional healthcare bill. Details included phasing out Medicaid's list of essential health benefits,  would set the individual mandate penalty to $0, and repeal taxes put in place by the Affordable Care Act.

The bill isn't a true repeal of ACA, or Obamacare, but an overhaul through budget reconciliation, and would leave much of ACA infrastructure in place. The fact it isn't a true repeal has raised consternation among some Republicans.

Trump says he doesn’t have tapes on Comey

President Trump seemed to admit in a Thursday tweet he does not have recordings of his meeting with former FBI Director James Comey.

3. Most panhandlers operating in the area are working in teams, and are also addicted to opiates, according to Amelia Robinson and her latest on Dayton.com.

4. Ohio Congressional Democrat Tim Ryan made a quick summary of his party's defeats  in all four of Tuesday's special elections - the Democratic party brand is worse than Trump. Ryan took on Nancy Pelosi for the position of minority leader, but was roundly defeated. Ryan's frustrations with the national party are similar to other non-coastal Democrats.

Quick Hits

* Vice President Mike Pence will visit Cleveland on June 28, according to Cleveland.com, continuing the administration's steady presence in the Buckeye state.

Akron's Mayor and City Council are asking for an income tax increase to deal with aging buildings and less funding from the state, according to the Beacon Journal.

* Gubernatorial candidate Connie Pillich wants to create a buy-in option to join the Medicaid program.

* Victim's rights activists have collected half million signatures to put on the ballot an Ohio Constitutional amendment requiring courts to give victims the same rights as the accused in court.

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