In Review: Last Tuesday, there was a House/Senate DFL Press Conference on pharmacy care in Minnesota which focused on the loss of pharmacies in the state, specifically the independent pharmacies. Last Wednesday, the Senate Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee met on SF 4570 which is the Senate Scope and Licensing Omnibus bill. During the hearing, the bill was amended to include language which would allow a pharmacist to prescribe, administer, and dispense HIV PEP/PrEP related drugs. Similar language can be found in SF 2320, but unlike that bill, the prohibition on prior authorization and step therapy is not included in the language. The bill was re-referred to State and Local Government and Veterans Committee. Last Thursday, there was an “Editorial Counterpoint” in the Star Tribune on the prior authorization issue (HF 3578 and SF 3532), which was authored by a retired physician. The author stated, “I am opposed to legislation that exempts PA for categories of medical care. The Legislature does not have the expertise to make medical management
decisions. Too often lawmakers write laws based on anecdotes that result in disastrous unintended consequences.” Last Friday, SF 4843 (Medical Assistance Dispensing Fee Same as FFS) and SF 5123 (Additional Pharmacy Dispensing Fee in Medical Assistance for Eligible Pharmacies) were both heard in the Senate HHS Committee. Both bills were amended and laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill.

If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Mack at mmack@pcmanet.org.