Senator Carla Nelson (Rochester) voted in support of Senate File 3769 on Tuesday, a bipartisan bill strengthening Minnesota's oversight of the federal 340B prescription drug discount program.

The 340B program was created in 1992 to help hospitals and clinics serving low-income and uninsured patients buy prescription drugs at a discount. The idea was to stretch limited resources as far as possible, so providers could keep the doors open and continue providing patients with affordable care. Over time, the program has grown beyond its original purpose, and too often the savings aren't reaching the patients who need them.

"The idea behind the 340B program is simple: discounts negotiated in the name of vulnerable patients would actually help those patients," Sen. Nelson said. "This bill takes a vital step toward making sure the program helps those who truly need it.”

SF 3769 does two things:

• It makes permanent a 2024 Minnesota law prohibiting drug manufacturers from cutting off 340B discounts to participating providers.
• The attorney general will be able to take action against drug companies that don't comply. The 2024 law had no enforcement mechanism, and some manufacturers had begun ignoring it.

Sen. Nelson supported the bill but expressed frustration at the defeat of a common sense amendment that would have prohibited entities from charging uninsured patients more than what the provider actually paid for the drug through the 340B discount. That amendment would have ensured prescription drug savings were passed along to the most vulnerable patients. Senate Democrats rejected the amendment.

"My concern from the beginning has been about who is benefiting from this," Sen. Nelson said. "The amendment we offered today put patients first. Hospitals would have kept their 340B revenue for insured patients. Our amendment simply said that an uninsured Minnesotan paying out of pocket shouldn't pay more than what the hospital paid for the drug. That's a reasonable protection, and I'm disappointed it didn't pass."

The broader issue of prescription drug cost transparency is one Sen. Nelson has been pushing on for years. She has repeatedly advocated for requiring insurers and pharmacy benefit managers to pass drug rebates through to patients at the pharmacy counter rather than keeping them as institutional revenue. This is a common sense concept called "share the rebates."

SF 3769 passed with bipartisan support.