1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; establishing a study on use of acupuncture for pain 
1.3 	relief to reduce opioid prescriptions; requiring a report; appropriating money.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. STUDY ON USE OF ACUPUNCTURE FOR PAIN RELIEF.
 1.6 	(a) The commissioner of human services shall contract with a vendor to develop and 
1.7 	execute a study on the use of acupuncture for pain relief and the potential for acupuncture 
1.8 	treatments to contribute to a reduction of opioid prescriptions in Minnesota.
1.9 	(b) The study shall include collection of data from at least 200 cases where an individual 
1.10 	receiving acupuncture treatment for pain relief had more than six but not more than 30 
1.11 	acupuncture treatments within a six-month period. Data shall be collected from at least ten 
1.12 	treatment sites and ten referral sites, including both rural and urban sites. The commissioner 
1.13 	may focus the study on Anoka, Carlton, Cass, Hennepin, Mille Lacs, and St. Louis Counties. 
1.14 	The commissioner shall work with acupuncture providers to obtain sufficient data while 
1.15 	protecting client privacy.
1.16 	(c) The vendor shall establish a data capture system to be used in future studies.
1.17 	(d) The study shall be completed no later than September 15, 2019. No later than January 
1.18 	15, 2020, the commissioner shall submit a report on the study to the legislative committees 
1.19 	with jurisdiction over human services policy. The report shall address the effectiveness of 
1.20 	acupuncture for pain relief and the potential effect of acupuncture on opioid prescriptions 
1.21 	in Minnesota. The report shall analyze the collected data using PROMIS-10 or an equivalent 
2.1 	assessment tool that gathers data from the referral practitioner, the treatment practitioner, 
2.2 	and the individual participant.

2.3 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

2.4 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 2.5 	$375,000 in fiscal year 2018 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner 
2.6 	of human services for the study in section 1. This is a onetime appropriation and is available 
2.7 	until expended.