Task force takes aim at prescription drug prices

Published 6:05 am Thursday, February 20, 2020

ST. PAUL  — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison unveiled a task force report Wednesday that makes 14 separate recommendations for lowering prescription drug prices ranging from new legislation to stronger enforcement action.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

Ellison said at a news conference that the pharmaceutical market is “opaque and dysfunctional,” and is not designed for ordinary people to understand. And he said the confusion has been a barrier to fixing the problem.

The recommendations from the bipartisan task force include proposals to make the markets work better for people, to use the government’s purchasing power to make drugs more affordable and accessible, and to require more transparency and accountability in the market.

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Lawmakers on the task force said legislators are already considering some of the 14 proposals, while others that face opposition will have to wait for future legislative sessions.

But the Democratic attorney general said that if Minnesota implements the recommendations, prescription drug prices will come down.