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Tell Your MN House Member Today to Lower Prescription Drug Costs & Reject Poison Pill Amendments

MN Legislature is Considering the PDAF Proposal THIS WEEK

April 24, 2023

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During this legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers are considering the passage of a bill to create a PRESCRIPTION DRUG AFFORDABILITY BOARD (PDAB) and pharmaceutical corporations are doing everything they can to stop it.

On Friday, April 14, an amendment was passed on the Senate Floor that would exclude rare disease drugs, as well as any drug that has been on the market for less than seven years, from ever being subject to the Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This amendment essentially guts PDAB’s ability to address prescription drug affordability in Minnesota.

Our state representatives will be voting on the House Commerce Omnibus (PDAB included) sometime later THIS WEEK. We must encourage them to pass PDAB WITH NO AMENDMENTS!

 

Click Here to Tell Your Legislators TODAY to Lower
Prescription Drug Costs

 

For too long, pharmaceutical corporations have legally been allowed to price-gouge when it comes to medicine, driving up costs at the pharmacy and across our entire healthcare system.

To address this, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison formed an Advisory Task Force on Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices. This Task Force, formed in 2019, brought together patients, healthcare professionals, bipartisan lawmakers, providers, and experts to identify solutions to the high cost of prescription drugs. It released a nationally awarded 100-page report that identified 14 key policy issues. A Prescription Drug Affordability Board was at the top of that list.

“No one should have to choose between affording their medications and affording to live.”

                                          — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

It’s time we had a watchdog to keep pharmaceutical corporations in check, and that’s just what we’ll have if Minnesota creates a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. PDAB will act like the Public Utilities Board and be a check on the monopoly power of pharmaceutical companies by setting upper payment limits (UPL) for high-cost drugs.

For years, our member-leaders on the Land Stewardship Project Healthcare Steering Committee have been working to expand access to affordable and usable healthcare. In 2020, we had a virtual town hall with the Minnesota Attorney General to discuss what we could do together to reach this shared goal. He strongly suggested we work toward passing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This session, we have the chance to do that.

Most prescription drugs are developed through taxpayer-funded research, yet Americans pay more for these drugs at the pharmacy. Our current system works well for the industry’s profit-generating stakeholders, but it’s certainly not working well for patients. Even if you aren’t on a high-cost drug, we all pay the price for drug companies’ greed through higher costs for premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs.

Prescription drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them. Don’t hesitate to take action. E-mail or call your legislators TODAY and tell them to pass the proposal creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) WITH NO AMENDMENTS, EXCLUSIONS, OR DELAYS!

 

Click Here to Tell Your Legislators TODAY to Lower
Prescription Drug Costs

 

Sign the Prescription Drug Affordability Board Petition

LSP is a part of a broad coalition of organizations that support PDAB, including ISAIAH, MN Nurses Association, TakeAction MN, SEIU, Faith in Minnesota, AARP, The Mainstreet Alliance, and the Committee To Protect Healthcare. To sign our PDAF petition, click here.

Share Your Prescription Drug Story

Elected officials need to hear our stories. We’ll use them to elevate this issue with lawmakers and advocate for PDAB. You can share your story by clicking here.

Category: Action Alerts
Tags: affordable healthcare • healthcare for all • Minnesota Legislature • PFAB • pharmaceutical industry • Prescription Drug Affordability Board

Contact

Paula Williams, LSP Health Care Organizer, e-mail

Upcoming Events

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October 2025

Saturday October 18

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Pasture Walk: Real World Tools to Extend the Grazing Season
Saturday October 18
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Pasture Walk: Real World Tools to Extend the Grazing Season
Nestingen Road, Nestingen Rd, Coon, WI 54667, USA

Valley Stewardship Network will host a pasture walk demonstrating various strategies for extending the grazing season. The event will be held on the Zinn Family Farm in rural Westby.

As input costs rise, livestock producers may want to consider extending the grazing season. Stockpile grazing and bale grazing are two proven methods to achieve this goal. 

The Zinn Family has been utilizing these practices for years on their rural Westby farm. Join us to see stockpiling, bale grazing, and winter water systems in a real-world setting.

For more information, or to RSVP, contact Evan Dvorsak at 608-632-6166 (call/text) or evan@valleystewardshipnetwork.org. Snacks will be provided. Details are also available in this flier.

Funding for this event is provided by the USDA’s Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI).

Thursday October 23

8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Farm to School & Early Care Grants Deadline
Thursday October 23
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Farm to School & Early Care Grants Deadline
Online

School is back in session and this week’s cool temps definitely remind us all that fall is just around the corner. This time of the year also means that the application period is open for Minnesota’s Farm to School and Early Care grants.

Earlier this year, the Land Stewardship Project and our partners were successful in expanding funding for the AGRI Farm to School and Early Care program. The application window for the next round of funding is now open and will close at 4 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Thursday, October 23.

APPLY FOR FUNDING HERE

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is serving up two funding opportunities to help schools and early childhood education (ECE) centers buy Minnesota-grown and -raised foods. 

1.    First Bite Grants: Up to $5,000 (no match required) to kickstart local food purchasing through intentional, high-impact activities. 
2.    Full Tray Grants: Up to $35,000 (1:1 match required) to help experienced schools and ECE centers increase or expand their local food purchases. 

Equipment funding: First Bite and Full Tray applicants can also request up to $25,000 (1:1 match required) to support the purchase of kitchen equipment that will enhance their capacity to buy, prepare, and serve local foods.  

 These grants are open to: 
•    Public or private K-12 schools or school districts in Minnesota that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
•    Early childhood education (ECE) centers that participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in Minnesota

MDA encourages schools, districts, and ECE centers serving sovereign tribal nations to apply. 

 Local Tots Cost-Share Program
There are also funds available to reimburse family child care providers for buying Minnesota-grown and -raised foods used for meals and snacks as part of the the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP):

Interested providers must submit a Local Tots Cost-Share program Letter of Intent to participate. Award amounts will be up to $1,000 and there is a 1:1 cash match required for providers who received a Local Tots Cost-Share award in 2025. There is no cash match required if you are new to the program. 

Applications are due by 4 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Thursday, October 23, 2025. 

 Program details and online applications are available at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/farm-school-early-care-programs or by contacting the Grants Team at MDA.AGRIgrants@state.mn.us. 

 Want to learn more about eligibility, allowable expenses, and how to apply?

 Join the MDA for a virtual info session: 
First Bite and Full Tray Grant Info Session 
September 15, 2025, 2-3 p.m.
Register here

 Local Tots Cost-Share Info Session – for family child care providers
September 18, 2025, 1-2 p.m.
Register here

Farmers: Are you Interested in selling to a school near you? 
Send this opportunity along to the food service director at schools near you or connect with a Regional Local Food Coordinator to help you make connections with schools, childcare settings, and other opportunities to sell locally. These positions are supported by the Department of Education and Renewing the Countryside.

Saturday October 25

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Saturday October 25
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Madison Public Library - Central, 201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

During the Wisconsin Book Festival, Curt Meine will talk about the book in a discussion with author Sonja Trom Eayrs (Dodge County, Incorporated), in a session on “The Fight for Rural America.” 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

Tuesday October 28

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
MDA Grants Webinar
Tuesday October 28
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
MDA Grants Webinar
Zoom online

Are you interested in applying for a grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)? On Tuesday, Oct. 28, from noon to 1:30 p.m., the Land Stewardship Project will be holding an online webinar on four grants that will be available this fall. MDA staffers will go over the details of these grants and how to apply for them.

 To sign-up, click here.  

 This webinar will feature information on four grants:

– AGRI Livestock Investment Grant

– AGRI Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant 

– Preparing for Extreme Weather (Prepare) Grant

– AGRI Protecting Livestock from Avian Influenza (Protect) Grant 

For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Kiminski at akiminski@landstewardshipproject.org.

Wednesday October 29

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
Wednesday October 29
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Book Event: We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy
The Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, 2800 University Ave, Des Moines, IA 50311, USA

The Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy is excited to share that one of our its primary pillars of work — a published collection of Paul Johnson’s writings —  is set for release on Oct. 2.  The book features a brief biography and a discussion of Paul’s ideas within the historical and future contexts of private lands conservation. 

For details on We Can Do Better: Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy click here.

View Full Calendar

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