Thumbs-up from Minnesota Republicans after President Trump declared the nation’s opioid crisis a public health emergency. State Representative Dave Baker from Willmar says, “Hopefully there’s gonna be some more federal funding towards the end of the year, but I will tell you that we can get a lot done with good policy, better prescribing practices in our country.”
Governor Mark Dayton says he’ll ask the legislature to assess pharmaceutical companies a penny-a-pill to help fund the state’s attack on the opioid epidemic. Representative Baker says he and many Republicans support the move, but acknowledges he’ll need to convince others. The bill didn’t get a hearing in the House last session.