The article “New Minnesota prescription drug board gets up and running but expects industry resistance” by Mark Zdechlik, which was published on January 17, 2024, in MPR News, deals with Minnesota’s innovative initiative to deal with the increasing prices of prescription drugs through the establishment of a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. The article looks at what drives this initiative, what issues it might encounter, and what it means for the access and cost of healthcare in that state. The article starts with Zdechlik putting the problem of the price of prescription drugs in context, drawing attention to the disappointment of state leaders, one of them being Minnesota, with the absence of success in this matter on a federal level. This discontent has led Minnesota to take pro-active steps in order to relieve its subjects from the financial pressure generated by high drug prices. The establishment of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board is a move away from the dependence on the federal action, which represents the state’s commitment to addressing healthcare health independently. The central issue of the article is the distinct nature of the charge by Minnesota’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board that distinguishes it from the same initiatives in other states. Being an innovative drug pricing regulatory body, …show more content…
Significant lobbying of these groups’ organizations has been performed against the board based on the argument that the patients may have limited accessibility to the drugs and also it may have a deterring impact on the pharmaceutical innovation. The article emphasizes how the interest groups determine the prescription drug pricing landscape, where the industry resistance remains the biggest hurdle before the boards’