|
UPDATE: 5/20/2024 - HF 5109 died, it failed to be scheduled for a hearing in the House Health Finance and Policy Committee before the 2024 session ended on 5/20/2024.
UPDATE: 5/20/2024 - SF 3916 died, it failed to be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee before the 2024 session ended on 5/20/2024.
HF 5109 was introduced in the House and referred to the House Health Finance and Policy Committee on 3/21/2024. The bill is sponsored by Representative Zack Stephenson.
SF 3916 was introduced in the Senate and referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on 2/19/2024. This bill is sponsored by Senator Heather Gustafson.
HF 5109 and SF 3916 prohibit pharmacy chains with more than 75 pharmacies under common ownership or control, from establishing quotas for their pharmacy employees. The prohibited quotas include the number of vaccines given.
HF 5109 and SF 3916 create a new section of law under Chapter 151 regarding Pharmacy Practice and Wholesale Distribution, summarized as follows:
SECTION 2. Creates section 151.195, to be titled "Prohibition of Quotas in Chain Pharmacies."
Subdivision 1(a) Creates definitions for terms used in this section of the bill.
(b) Defines "Chain community pharmacy" as a chain of 75 or more pharmacies under the same ownership or control.
(c) Defines "quota" as the "fixed number or formula related to the duties of" a pharmacist or other person providing pharmacy services, in which "its agent measures or evaluates the number of times and individual pharmacist" or other person providing the pharmacy service "performs tasks or provides a service while on duty." It describes that quotas include prescriptions filled, vaccines given, services rendered, programs offered to patients, or revenue obtained.
(d) Defines "quota" as not meaning the measurement of any revenue earned by the licensed chain that is not measured by the tasks performed by the pharmacy individuals providing the service, nor does it include competence or performance measurements of the quality of care provided to patients. It also does not apply to any performance metrics required by federal or state regulators.
Subdivision 2. Prohibits Chain community pharmacy quotas as summarized below:
(a) Prohibits a chain community pharmacy from establishing any quota related to individual or collective duties performed by an individual pharmacist, pharmacist intern, or pharmacy technician during a specific period of time.
(b) Prohibits a chain community pharmacy from communicating the existence of illegal quotas to pharmacists, pharmacy interns, or pharmacy technicians through employees, contractors, or third parties that are contracted to the pharmacy.
(c) Asserts that nothing in this section will "prohibit a chain community pharmacy from establishing policies and procedures that assist in assessing the competency and performance of a pharmacist or pharmacy technician in providing care to patients if the measurements used are not, or do not include, quotas."
NVIC SUPPORTS HF 5109 and SF 3916 because pharmacy vaccination quotas create an environment where vaccination rates of pharmacy customers are driven by company requirements rather than informed consent of the patients receiving them. Pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians are more likely to spend more time convincing or even pressuring a customer toward taking a vaccine that they do not need or want simply because they need to increase the number of vaccines they have given to meet the requirement of their employer. Vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry a risk of injury and even death. Patients should consent to vaccination after becoming fully informed of the risks and benefits, without the outside pressure or coercion that can be generated when vaccine quotas are in place. An improvement to this bill would be to add a penalty for any chain community pharmacy that does not comply with the law.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF5109&ssn=0&y=2024 - text, status, and history of HF 5109
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?f=SF3916&y=2024&ssn=0&b=senate - text, status, and history of SF 3916
|