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Ellison launches drug pricing task force

The Attorney General is hoping to attract consumers and medical professionals to advisory panel on lowering pharmaceutical drug prices

ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison wants help solving the vexing problem of skyrocketing medications such as insulin.

Ellison announced Thursday he's forming a advisory task force, and hoping to attract bright people from many related fields and consumers with varied perspectives to find long-term solutions.

It's an issue he's heard quite a bit about during his 12 years in Congress and his time in the State Capitol as the state's top lawyer.

"Some of them are white, some of them are black, some of them are Latino, some of them are from Greater Minnesota, some of them are from the urban core, some of them from suburbs," Ellison told reporters.

"But they are united in one simple idea, that they have a right to afford their lives, and drug prices are way too high."

To apply: He urged people to apply apply for a spot on the task force by going to Secretary of State's website at this Boards and Commissions link

The Attorney General said litigation is one tool at his disposal, but recognized attacking the drug cost crisis will take a more comprehensive approach from state lawmakers and community organizations.

For Thursday's press conference he brought together people who've been struggling to afford their medications, and at times going off of them with horrible consequences.

Claire Henn said she took Remacade, and anti-inflammatory drug for rheumatoid arthritis until her share of the cost went from $60 per treatment to $1,400 per treatment.

She switched to over-the-counter medications for years, while she tried to find an affordable prescription drug.

"My ability to function physically deteriorated, to the point I can no longer cut a peanut butter sandwich with a knife. I no longer have the strength," Henn explained.

Christy Kuehn of Lakeland said she's spent countless hours on the phone with her insurance company, trying to find an explanation for why her husband Curt's insulin costs have shot up far past expectations.

"He’s been living on six months worth of insulin now for a little over a year, rationing."

Nicole Smith-Holt, whose son Alec died while rationing his insulin, said people with Type I diabetes are now paying on average $15,000 per year for the drug.

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