1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to health; requiring equal treatment of 
  1.3             prescription drug prescribers; clarifying the role of 
  1.4             practice guidelines in prescribing legend drugs; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 151.37, 
  1.6             subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 62A. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [62A.307] [PRESCRIPTION DRUGS; EQUAL TREATMENT 
  1.10  OF PRESCRIBERS.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE OF REQUIREMENT.] This section 
  1.12  applies to any of the following if issued or renewed to a 
  1.13  Minnesota resident or to cover a Minnesota resident: 
  1.14     (1) a health plan, as defined in section 62A.011; 
  1.15     (2) coverage described in section 62A.011, subdivision 3, 
  1.16  clause (2), (3), or (6) to (12); and 
  1.17     (3) a policy, contract, or certificate issued by a 
  1.18  community integrated service network or an integrated service 
  1.19  network licensed under chapter 62N. 
  1.20     Subd. 2.  [REQUIREMENT.] Coverage described in subdivision 
  1.21  1 that covers prescription drugs must provide the same coverage 
  1.22  for a prescription written by a health care provider authorized 
  1.23  to prescribe the particular drug covered by the health coverage 
  1.24  described in subdivision 1, regardless of the type of health 
  1.25  care provider that wrote the prescription.  This section is 
  1.26  intended to prohibit denial of coverage based on the 
  2.1   prescription having been written by an advanced practice nurse 
  2.2   under section 148.235, a physician assistant under section 
  2.3   147.34, or any other nonphysician health care provider 
  2.4   authorized to prescribe the particular drug. 
  2.5      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 151.37, 
  2.6   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.7      Subd. 2.  (a) A licensed practitioner in the course of 
  2.8   professional practice only, may prescribe, administer, and 
  2.9   dispense a legend drug, and may cause the same to be 
  2.10  administered by a nurse, a physician assistant, or intern 
  2.11  medical student or resident under the practitioner's direction 
  2.12  and supervision, and may cause a person who is an appropriately 
  2.13  certified, registered, or licensed health care professional to 
  2.14  prescribe, dispense, and administer the same within the 
  2.15  expressed legal scope of the person's practice as defined in 
  2.16  Minnesota Statutes.  A licensed practitioner may prescribe a 
  2.17  legend drug, without reference to a specific patient, by 
  2.18  directing a registered nurse, physician assistant, or medical 
  2.19  student or resident to adhere to a particular practice guideline 
  2.20  or protocol when treating patients whose condition falls within 
  2.21  such guideline or protocol, and when such guideline or protocol 
  2.22  specifies the circumstances under which the legend drug is to be 
  2.23  prescribed and administered.  An individual who verbally, 
  2.24  electronically, or otherwise transmits a written, oral, or 
  2.25  electronic order, as an agent of a prescriber, shall not be 
  2.26  deemed to have prescribed the legend drug.  This paragraph 
  2.27  applies to a physician assistant only if the physician assistant 
  2.28  meets the registration and certification requirements of section 
  2.29  147.34, subdivision 1, paragraph (a). 
  2.30     (b) A licensed practitioner that dispenses for profit a 
  2.31  legend drug that is to be administered orally, is ordinarily 
  2.32  dispensed by a pharmacist, and is not a vaccine, must file with 
  2.33  the practitioner's licensing board a statement indicating that 
  2.34  the practitioner dispenses legend drugs for profit, the general 
  2.35  circumstances under which the practitioner dispenses for profit, 
  2.36  and the types of legend drugs generally dispensed.  It is 
  3.1   unlawful to dispense legend drugs for profit after July 31, 
  3.2   1990, unless the statement has been filed with the appropriate 
  3.3   licensing board.  For purposes of this paragraph, "profit" means 
  3.4   (1) any amount received by the practitioner in excess of the 
  3.5   acquisition cost of a legend drug for legend drugs that are 
  3.6   purchased in prepackaged form, or (2) any amount received by the 
  3.7   practitioner in excess of the acquisition cost of a legend drug 
  3.8   plus the cost of making the drug available if the legend drug 
  3.9   requires compounding, packaging, or other treatment.  The 
  3.10  statement filed under this paragraph is public data under 
  3.11  section 13.03.  This paragraph does not apply to a licensed 
  3.12  doctor of veterinary medicine or a registered pharmacist.  Any 
  3.13  person other than a licensed practitioner with the authority to 
  3.14  prescribe, dispense, and administer a legend drug under 
  3.15  paragraph (a) shall not dispense for profit.  To dispense for 
  3.16  profit does not include dispensing by a community health clinic 
  3.17  when the profit from dispensing is used to meet operating 
  3.18  expenses.