Policy

Minnesota law would limit co-pays for oral cancer medication

The Senate Finance Committee has recommended passage of a bill that would require health plans to limit out-of-pocket costs for oral cancer medication. The bill would prohibit health plans in Minnesota from charging co-pays or coinsurance greater than $50 for oral cancer chemotherapy. If passed, S.F. No. 1761 would go into effect Aug. 1. The […]

By Brandon Glenn on May 07, 2010

The Senate Finance Committee has recommended passage of a bill that would require health plans to limit out-of-pocket costs for oral cancer medication. The bill would prohibit health plans in Minnesota from charging co-pays or coinsurance greater than $50 for oral cancer chemotherapy. If passed, S.F. No. 1761 would go into effect Aug. 1. The House passed the bill in late April with a 58-8 vote.

  • The Senate and House both passed a bill that “encourages” primary care doctors to provide dental-preventive services to children and teens as part of checkup or episodic care visits. S.F. No. 633 lists those services as a visual examination of a child’s mouth without using dental probes, a risk assessment based on standards set by the American Academies of Pediatrics and Pediatric Dentistry, and the application of fluoride to children older than 1 year who are judged to be at risk.
  • Rep. Robin Brown, DFL-Moscow Township, introduced a bill that calls for a study of how wind turbines affect military veterans with health problems. H.F. No. 3826 would give the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs the power to compel the Commissioner of Health to “conduct a study on the effect of wind turbine movement on a veteran.” The bill defines “veteran” as  “a military service veteran with a service-connected disability who certifies to the commissioner of veterans affairs that the service-connected disability contributes to the wind turbine movement having a detrimental health effect on the veteran.”
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  • By a 59-2 vote, the Senate passed a bill that would require licensing of birth centers. S.F. No. 2702 would apply to facilities that perform “low-risk” deliveries and are not hospitals. The bill would go into effect on Jan. 1 2011 and bar any birth center from being established or operated unless it receives a license from the commissioner of health. To obtain a license, birth centers would have to be accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Birth Centers. If a center loses its accreditation, it would be immediately required to notify the commissioner of health. The bill hasn’t come up for a vote in the House.

Photo from flickr user KeithBurtis