1.1.................... moves to amend H.F. No. 1640, the first engrossment, as follows:
1.2Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:

1.3    "Section 1. [62U.085] PRESCRIPTION DRUG EDUCATION PROGRAM
1.4RECOMMENDATIONS.
1.5    Subdivision 1. Program design. The commissioner of human services shall develop
1.6an evidence-based prescription drug education program to provide information and
1.7education on the therapeutic and cost-effective utilization of prescription drugs to health
1.8care professionals authorized to prescribe drugs. The commissioner may contract for
1.9technical and clinical support in the development and the administration of the program
1.10from the Board of Pharmacy, the University of Minnesota Medical School, and the
1.11University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, or other entities conducting independent
1.12research in the effectiveness of prescription drugs.
1.13    Subd. 2. Program components. (a) The program must include outreach and
1.14education components regarding the therapeutic and cost-effective utilization of
1.15prescription drugs as provided in peer-reviewed scientific, medical, and academic research
1.16publications. The program may include ways to tailor the program to impact those drugs
1.17identified by the Drug Utilization Review Board, established under Minnesota Statutes,
1.18section 256B.0625, subdivision 13i, as being the most subject to overuse, misuse, or
1.19associated with inappropriate or medically unnecessary health care. The commissioner,
1.20to the extent possible, shall require the program to utilize or incorporate information
1.21regarding clinical trials, pharmaceutical efficacy, adverse effects of drugs, evidence-based
1.22treatment options, and drug marketing approaches that are intended to circumvent
1.23competition from generic and therapeutically equivalent drugs, and shall incorporate
1.24into the program other independent educational resources or models proven effective
1.25in promoting high-quality, evidence-based, cost-effective information regarding the
1.26effectiveness and safety of prescription drugs.
2.1(b) Educational materials used by the program shall be based on a balanced and
2.2comprehensive review of evidence that is accepted within the practice of medicine,
2.3including scientific research that conforms to the generally accepted standards of
2.4experimental design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, with the purpose
2.5of providing unbiased continuing education on the comparative efficacy, safety, and
2.6cost-effectiveness of prescription drugs. The program may use materials that meet these
2.7criteria developed by a medical school, an academic medical center, a school of pharmacy,
2.8a medical society, a research institute, or another publicly sponsored prescriber education
2.9service.
2.10(c) The program shall include, but is not limited to, in-person outreach and education
2.11sessions for health care professionals in their place of work that shall be facilitated by
2.12qualified educators.
2.13(d) The commissioner shall establish:
2.14(1) minimum clinical and educational qualifications for educators employed by or
2.15under contract with the program;
2.16(2) required training for educators; and
2.17(3) a code of conduct governing the educators in their interactions with health
2.18care professionals and conflict of interest guidelines for educators and others involved
2.19in advising, developing, and administering the program.
2.20    Subd. 3. Program coverage. (a) The program must provide outreach and education
2.21to health care professionals who as a group collectively prescribe 80 percent or more
2.22of prescription medications dispensed to enrollees in the medical assistance, general
2.23assistance medical care, and MinnesotaCare programs, and who participate in, contract
2.24with, or are reimbursed by state health care programs. The commissioner may further
2.25limit the outreach and education to those prescribers for whom improvements in clinical
2.26prescribing outcomes and safety would lead to the greatest benefit to the state, including
2.27specific prescribers identified by the Drug Utilization Review Board. The program may
2.28provide outreach and education to health care providers, health plan companies, hospitals,
2.29employers, and other persons interested in utilizing the program on a subscription or
2.30fee-paying basis. The commissioner shall consider the establishment of a fee, with any fee
2.31revenue collected used to administer the prescription drug education program.
2.32(b) For purposes of this section, "state health care programs" include the medical
2.33assistance program, general assistance medical care program, the MinnesotaCare program,
2.34health care programs funded by the Department of Corrections, and the state employee
2.35group health insurance program.
3.1    Subd. 4. Annual report. By April 1 of each year, beginning April 1, 2011, the
3.2commissioner shall submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the
3.3legislative committees with jurisdiction over health care policy and finance on the
3.4operation of the program. The report must include information on the outreach and
3.5education components of the program; revenues, expenditures, and balances; and savings
3.6attributable to the program in state health care programs.
3.7    Subd. 5. Funding. The commissioner may seek grants and private funds from
3.8nonprofit charitable foundations to fund the planning, development, and ongoing
3.9operations of the recommended program.
3.10    Subd. 6. Fee assessed. The commissioner of human services, effective July 1,
3.112010, shall assess each pharmaceutical manufacturer required to be licensed under
3.12section 151.47, a quarterly fee. The fee assessed on each manufacturer shall be equal to
3.130.5 percent of prescription drug expenditures, on the manufacturer's drug products, for
3.14fee-for-service medical assistance, general assistance medical care, and MinnesotaCare
3.15enrollees, under section 256B.0625, subdivision 13e. The fee shall be assessed on
3.16manufacturers by labeler codes and shall be based on the most recent quarter for which
3.17drug utilization information by manufacturer labeler code is available. The fee shall not
3.18be assessed on licensed pharmacies to which the Board of Pharmacy has also issued
3.19a manufacturer's license. The commissioner shall use revenues from the assessment to
3.20implement the prescription drug education program."
3.21Amend the title accordingly