Lawmakers want to raise taxes on pharmaceutical companies to help pay for the cost of the opioid crisis. But success has been elusive.
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SPEED READ:
- Minnesota's "penny a pill" bill failed in the state legislature after heavy lobbying removed a key provision. The state plans to try again in 2019.
- An additional 10 states all tried and failed to pass opioid taxes this session. Lawmakers in those states say they will try again nex year.
- Only New York has successfully passed legislation, but the new law is on hold thanks to a lawsuit.
States haven't been very successful at taxing drug companies to help pay for the opioid crisis. But that won’t stop them from trying again next year.
Minnesota State Rep. Dave Baker, a Republican who sponsored a failed “penny a pill” bill during this year's session, has said that he plans on a different focus in 2019: pharmaceutical licensing reform. Liquor stores and bars pay thousands of dollars each year for the privilege of selling alcohol, Baker noted this week at a conference on opioids in Minneapolis, but drug companies only pay a few hundred dollars in licensing fees.