Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signs opioid crisis response bill

Increased fees for drugmakers will raise $20 million a year for addiction prevention and treatment.

May 23, 2019 at 3:49AM
OxyContin 80 mg pills in an August 2013 file image.
OxyContin 80 mg pills in an August 2013 file image. (Tns - Tns/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Gov. Tim Walz signed into law Wednesday a plan to increase fees on prescription drug manufacturers and distributors to pay for a statewide response to the opioid epidemic in Minnesota.

The legislation, which passed both chambers with bipartisan support, is expected to raise more than $20 million a year for addiction prevention and treatment to stem the opioid crisis.

"The opioid epidemic is devastating communities across Minnesota — claiming lives and leaving heartbroken families in its wake," Walz said in a statement. "This law will help more families access the treatment they need and prevent addiction in the first place."

Under the new law, annual licensing fees drug companies pay to do business in the state will jump from about $200 to up to $305,000 a year. Those fees will drop to $5,000 after five years if the fund reaches $250 million, either through the fees or by a settlement from pending lawsuits against the drug manufacturers.

A 19-member advisory council will use the new funds to issue grants for programs that combat opioid addiction and prevent overdose deaths. The revenue also will pay for law enforcement efforts, programs aimed at providing nonnarcotic pain treatment plans, and county-level services for children whose parents are addicted to drugs.

The bill faced opposition from pharmaceutical companies and some patients.

"Unfortunately, what's being proposed — taxing legitimately prescribed medicines that patients rely on for legitimate medical needs to raise revenue for the state — ignores evidence-based solutions, sets a dangerous precedent and ultimately won't help patients and families," Nick McGee, director of public affairs for the industry trade group PhRMA, told the Star Tribune earlier this year.

That opposition was enough to derail similar proposals in recent years. But supporters said a growing recognition of the scope and seriousness of opioid addiction, as well as the role manufacturers of addictive prescription drugs played in starting the crisis, changed the political dynamic this year.

Torey Van Oot • 612-673-7299

Gov. Tim Walz, from left, House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka hold a news conference to announce a budget deal in St. Paul, Minn., Sunday, May 19, 2019. Walz and top legislative leaders reached a bipartisan budget deal Sunday in which the governor dropped his proposed gas tax increase but got to keep most of an expiring tax that helps fund health care programs, Republicans got an income tax cut for middle-class Minnesotans and both sides claimed credit for addit
Gov. Tim Walz OK’d a bill increasing licensing fees for drug companies. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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Torey Van Oot

Politics and Government

Torey Van Oot reports on Minnesota politics and government for the Star Tribune.

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