Dear Neighbors,
The Minnesota House is hard at work to make good on the promises we made to Minnesotans who desperately need our help. At long last affordable insulin will be a reality for those who need it most.
House Passes Alec Smith Affordability Act
Yesterday, the house voted to pass the Alec Smith Affordability Act. After many months of negotiations with Republicans, we finally reached a bipartisan consensus on this important legislation. I’m deeply grateful for the tireless advocacy of those who suffered the most at the hands of the pharmaceutical companies, and who kept up the pressure on lawmakers to get this across the finish line. The final version of the bill ensures those who urgently need a supply of insulin can get one and will require pharmaceutical manufacturers – who have made enormous profits off of the drug as its price has skyrocketed – to reimburse pharmacies for these emergency supplies. The legislation also provides relief for those who need assistance on a longer-term basis by requiring drug makers to create a patient assistance program. If they don’t comply, the companies could be fined up to $3.6 million for the first year, doubling in the second year. You can read the legislation here.
Clarity in Drug Pricing
My House DFL colleagues and I remain committed to ensuring everyone has access to health care they can afford, including lower prescription drug prices. I have introduced a bill, HF 3805, with bipartisan authorship in both the House and the Senate, which would require drug manufacturers to file their list prices with the Department of Commerce and hold to them over the course of each calendar year so that health plans would have no excuse to change their drug “formularies” during the middle of the year. In addition, patients would be able to see just how costly their drugs really are. I’ve spent considerable time over the past year researching the pharmaceutical supply chain, and as a classically educated economist trained in the study of industrial organization, I have never seen such a convoluted “value chain”, involving quite so many different kinds of third-party intermediaries (each carving out their own little piece of the pie) in any other industry. Each of those slices is defined as a percentage of the drug manufacturer’s list price (and they all add up). This kind of profiteering is hostile to each and every Minnesotan and is ultimately designed to value corporate profits over peoples’ health. That’s why I authored this bill, to take one more step towards correcting the situation.
Join Me for Virtual Town Hall
While we should all be practicing social distancing, I think it is important that we have the chance to connect and talk about the work my colleagues and I are doing to help Minnesota get through this pandemic. That’s why I will be co-hosting a virtual town hall with Senator Franzen and Representative Edelson Tomorrow, Thursday, April 16th at 7:00 PM.
We will be live-streaming the meeting from Rep. Edelson’s Facebook page. If you have any questions you would like to ask us, please email them to me, today or tomorrow, at rep.steve.elkins@house.mn.
Keep in Touch
Now more than ever please contact me anytime with questions, input, or ideas. Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can provide any assistance. This situation is evolving constantly and I will be sure to update you with any changes. Please follow me on my Facebook page for further updates and invite your friends and family to do so as well.
Thanks for the honor of representing you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Steve Elkins
Representative, District 49B
Minnesota House of Representatives
515 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 296-7803