Happy new year to you and yours. I’m tanned, rested and ready to bring you today’s newsletter. (Well, maybe not tanned.) A few years ago, the federal government found that the United States had experienced “significant increases” in nominal healthcare spending between 2005 and 2015 — no shocker there. There were a number of factors at work, but key among them: Technology. Healthcare practitioners are increasingly bringing technology to the fore when treating mental health (and other needs). Technology can open diagnostic doors but it can also impose higher costs, and as always, costs are a concern for all involved — patients, providers and insurers, reports Samantha Wildow, who covers healthcare and the business of healthcare. Increased costs, new tech, and more on mental health: What might you see with health care in 2025 What to expect: Higher spending, increased attention to technology and further focus on mental health are likely to be the focus of what’s to come in 2025, health experts say. And: Hospitals and providers may seek more ways to save now that emergency funding for the COVID-19 pandemic has dried up. What they’re saying: While more Ohioans have a higher level of financial protection against health costs than people in most other states ― about 94% of Ohioans had health insurance in 2023, compared to 88% in 2010, according to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio ― some say it’s still not enough. “The cost of healthcare services and health insurance premiums, deductibles and copays keeps rising, making it difficult for people to make ends meet and access care when they need it,” said Amy Rohling McGee, president of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. Getting on base will be a bit different for a while In the aftermath of the New Year’s Day killings in New Orleans and the vehicle explosion in Las Vegas, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base suspended its “trusted traveler” program to “ensure the safety and security of personnel, visitors and facilities,” the base said. Wright-Patt was not alone. Military bases across the nation strengthened security procedures, also suspending the program, according to multiple reports. What it means: Everyone in a vehicle seeking access to the base must present valid Department of Defense identification at the base entry gate, the base said on its web site. “Valid identification” could mean a common access card, a registered “real ID,” a VA benefits card, visitor’s pass and more, the base said. “Those without valid identification will need to visit the 88th Security Forces Pass and Registration Office to be vetted and issued a base visitor’s pass,” the base said. Dying on the job: Workplace fatalities rose in Ohio; nonfatal injuries dropped What happened: More people were killed on the job in Ohio in 2023 than the year before, while nonfatal workplace illnesses and injuries declined, new federal Census and survey data shows. Yes, but: In 2023, Ohio’s private employers also reported 84,800 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses, says data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. And: The Buckeye State saw a drop in the occupational injury and illness incidence rate from 2022 (2.3 cases). The same was true nationally (the rate fell from 2.7 cases in 2022). For these West Dayton residents, train horns got old, fast The problem: Some West Dayton residents say they are sick of loud train horns blasting at all hours — day and night — in their neighborhood. The (hoped-for) solution: Residents in the Edgemont neighborhood would like the city to help create its first-ever quiet zone where locomotives are not allowed to sound their horns except in certain situations such as emergencies. CityWide leverages federal tax credits for snack food project in Moraine The latest: Construction hasn’t started yet, but state and now local partners have been able to harness Ohio and federal tax credits to bring a Shearer’s Foods production site to part of the former General Motors SUV assembly plant straddling Stroop Road in Moraine. Contact me: Thank you as always for reading. If you want to tell me about your business in 2025, it’s easy. I’m at tom.gnau@coxinc.com, on X (DMs open) and LinkedIn. And please check out our Dayton Business page, which is updated many times daily. Pete Rose, gambling and the Gem City. There’s a story here. (Many stories, actually.) Celebrated Air Force leader: Dies at 93. | 
