Advisory Task Force on Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices

“As the People’s Lawyer, I’ve heard from people in every corner of Minnesota that they’re having trouble affording their lives — and the cost of prescription drugs is a major factor in that. They’re all united in one simple idea; they’re entitled to afford their lives — and drug prices are too high.” - Keith Ellison

To address this problem, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison formed a task force for lowering the cost of pharmaceutical drugs.

Attorney General Ellison has charged the task force with gathering in the best thinking in order to understand why the prices of prescription drugs are so high — in some cases, unconscionably high — and come up with multi-pronged strategies to lower prices. These will include legislative, legal, regulatory, and community-based strategies. 

Final Report
Report Cover

On February 19, 2020, after nearly one year of public study and deliberation, the Task Force has released a full report and executive summary, both of which include the recommendations for lowering prescription drug prices.

Read the Full Report
Read the Executive Summary


Members of the Task Force:

Nicole Smith-Holt, Charity Ambassador, T1International – Co-chair
Senator Scott Jensen, Senate District 47, Co-Chair
Shirlynn LaChapelle, Nurse Consultant
Dr. Leonard Snellman, General Pediatrician, HealthPartners
Christy Kuehn, Patient Advocate
Rose Roach, Executive Director, Minnesota Nurses Association
Dr. Stephen Schondelmeyer, Director and Professor, PRIME Institute, University of Minnesota
Elo Alston, Patient Advocate
Nazie Eftekhari, Founder and CEO, HealthEZ
Phu Huynh, Pharmacy Manager, NorthPoint Medical Clinic
Jessica Braun, Nurse Practitioner
Dr. Cody Wiberg, Executive Director, Minnesota Board of Pharmacy
Senator Matt Little, Senate District 58
Representative John Lesch, House District 66B
Representative Rod Hamilton, House District 22B

Staff Liaison:
Sadaf Rahmani, ex officio


Section I: Communications

Press Releases


Section II: Resources

Bylaws of Advisory Task Force on Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices

The Real Price of Medications: A survey of variations in prescription drug prices
Written by Reuben Mathew, Lance Kilpatrick, and Adam Garber - U.S. PIRG Education Fund

Taskforce Report - June 2019 Draft

Taskforce Report - February 2019 Final Draft

Presentations:

Graphs:


Section III: Events

Full Task Force Meetings

# Date: Time: Location: Agenda Minutes
1. April 23, 2019 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. MN State Capitol Agenda Minutes
2. June 18, 2019 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. MN State Capitol
Senate room G3
Agenda Minutes
3. July 23, 2019 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. MN State Capitol
Senate room G3
Agenda Minutes
4. September 25, 2019 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. MN State Capitol
Senate room G3
Agenda Minutes
5. October 23, 2019 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. MN State Capitol
Senate room G3
Agenda
6. November 19, 2019 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. MN State Capitol
Senate room G3
Minutes
7. December 18, 2019 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. MN State Capitol
Senate room G3
Agenda

8. February 19, 2020 Final Meeting of the Task Force and Press Conference
Meet as a Group (not open to media)
11:00 a.m. to Noon
Cass Gilbert Library Room 317A, Capitol Conference Rooms, MN State Capitol

Press Conference
Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Press Conference Room B971, MN State Capitol

Working Group Meetings

Working Group #1: Legislation, Regulation Action Group

# Date: Time: Location: Agenda Minutes
1. May 29, 2019 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. AG's Office, Suite 102
MN State Capitol
Agenda Minutes
2. July 18, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. AG's Office Agenda Minutes
3. August 21, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Minnesota Board of Pharmacy
2829 University Avenue SE in Minneapolis
Conference Room A – on the 4th Floor
Agenda Minutes

Working Group #2: Causes & Contributors

# Date: Time: Location: Agenda Minutes
1. May 08, 2019 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Conference Room 317
MN State Capitol
Agenda Minutes
2. May 29, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Conference Room 317
MN State Capitol
Agenda Minutes
3. June 26, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Conference Room 317
MN State Capitol
Agenda Minutes
4. July 10, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. AG's Office Agenda Minutes
5. August 7, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Conference Room 317
MN State Capitol
Agenda
6. August 21, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Conference Room 317
MN State Capitol
Agenda Minutes
7. September 4, 2019 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Conference Room 317
MN State Capitol
Minutes

Working Group #3: Past, Current, and Future Strategies

# Date: Time: Location: Agenda Minutes
1. May 14, 2019 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Conference Room 317
MN State Capitol
Minutes
2. July 16, 2019 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. HealthEZ
7201 West 78th Street,
Suite 100
Bloomington, MN 55439
Agenda Minutes
3. August 20, 2019 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. HealthEZ
7201 West 78th Street,
Suite 100
Bloomington, MN 55439
Agenda Minutes

Listening Sessions

Listening sessions are designed to give Minnesotans all over the state an opportunity to share their personal stories and ideas with members of the task force.

1. Hosted with Senator Scott Jenson

Date Time Location
June 11th, 2019 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Chaska Community Center
1661 Park Ridge Dr
Chaska, MN 55318

2. Hosted with Representative Rob Hamilton

Date Time Location
July 20th, 2019 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Worthington

Section IV: Working Groups

Working Group #1: “Legislative Regulatory Action Group”

Task:
Determine the role of the federal and state legislative and regulatory actions in lowering drug prices

Members:

  1. Sen. Matt Little
  2. Rep. Rod Hamilton
  3. Cody Wiberg
  4. Shirlynn LaChapelle
  5. Nicole Smith-Holt

Working Group #2: Causes & Contributors

Task:
Identify the root causes and contributing factors to the increase in pharmaceutical drug prices

Members:

  1. Dr. Stephen Schondelmeyer
  2. Dr. Leonard Snellman
  3. Rose Roach
  4. Rep. John Lesch
  5. Christy Kuehn

Working Group #3: Past, Current, and Future Strategies

Task:
Conduct a comprehensive analysis of various strategies that have been, and could be, undertaken to lower drug prices

Members:

  1. Phu Huynh
  2. Nazie Eftekhari
  3. Jessica Braun
  4. Elo Alston
  5. Sen. Scott Jensen