Three new laws will go into effect in Minnesota on Jan. 1, 2020.
The state House of Representatives has released a list of the laws, which will impact tooth, tusk and horn traders, pharmacy benefit managers and opioid prescribers.
Pharmacy benefit manager licensure to be instituted
Pharmacies who administer prescription drug benefits for health carriers and employers must now have a license. This change aims to improve transparency and serve as a first step in understanding prescription price changes.
Pharmacy benefit managers will have requirements in network adequacy, ownership interest and transparency.
License applications and renewals will require fees and evidence of fiscal responsibility.
Pharmacy benefit managers may be fined $5,000 for every day they act without a license plus additional civil penalties if they fail to comply with transparency requirements, including annual reports.
Licenses can be suspended or revoked.
Continuing education need for controlled substance prescribers
Much of the state's response to the opioid crisis was included in a law that took effect July 1.
A new provision will come into effect Jan.1, which will require opioid prescribers to take at least two hours of continuing education in prescribing opioids and controlled substances as part of the requirements for licensure renewal.
Tooth, tusk, horn trading prohibited
The omnibus environment and natural resources law from 2019 already prohibits someone from purchasing or selling a prohibited animal across state lines. But in 2020 it will also be illegal to do so within Minnesota itself.
The prohibited animal parts include "a tooth or tusk from any species of elephant, hippopotamus, mammoth, mastodon, walrus, whale, or narwhal or any piece thereof, whether raw or worked, and a horn; piece of horn; derivative of a horn, such as powder, of any species of rhinoceros."
Exceptions will be made if the item is a part of an antique, musical instrument or cultural artifact, or if it is purchased by an educational or scientific nonprofit.
If someone is caught selling or purchasing a prohibited animal part, the item will be forfeited to the state and will be destroyed or given to a nonprofit for scientific or educational purposes.