August 31, 2023
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program (OPIP) has asked the MMA to join its scheduled conversations with provider and patient communities regarding the sunset of the Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program (OPIP), as directed by the 2023 Human Services bill.
DHS, which is seeking input from stakeholders impacted by its OPIP, is required to develop and recommend a set of criteria to the Legislature for sunsetting the program. The proposed methodology will use data-drive indicators that demonstrate the program has accomplished its original, statutorily defined goals:
Reduce inappropriate or excessive opioid prescribing for acute and post-acute pain
Reduce inappropriate variation in opioid prescribing for acute and post-acute pain
Support patients who remain on chronic opioid analgesic therapy through patient-centered, multimodal treatment approaches, improved monitoring of safety and harm reduction strategies.
Stakeholders will meet between September and November to accomplish three primary objectives: 1) Evaluate various data sets and indicators relevant to opioid prescribing trends and patient safety, 2) Engage in discussion with DHS staff and other panel members around criteria options, and 3) Recommend a final set of data-driven indicators (criteria) to the Commissioner of DHS
The panel will include representation from the following stakeholder groups:
The MMA
The Minnesota Society of Interventional Pain Physicians
Clinician(s) that practice pain management
Clinician(s) that practice addiction medicine or mental health
Current or former Minnesota health care program enrollee(s) who use or have used opioid therapy to manage chronic pain
DHS will host two virtual meetings, with an option for the third, for the purpose of finalizing sunset criteria. Meeting dates include:
Thursday, September 14, 12:15 – 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 17, 12:15 – 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 16, 12:00 -1:15 p.m. (optional meeting if needed)
Physicians interested in being considered to serve as the MMA representative(s) for this conversation should contact Juliana Milhofer, JD, MMA public health and policy engagement manager.
May 29, 2025
As the Legislature works to complete its work on the state’s two-year budget, another deadline is looming. Legislators are required to pass a balanced budget before the end of the fiscal year—June 30, 2025. If they don’t meet that deadline, the state will begin a partial shutdown.
May 29, 2025
Registration has opened for the Empowering Physicians: A Night of Reflection and Engagement event, featuring best-selling author Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD.
May 29, 2025
The AMA is encouraging physicians to contact their U.S. senators and urge them to revise the reconciliation bill passed recently by the U.S. House of Representatives. While the bill includes language that would stabilize Medicare physician payments, it also threatens to cripple Medicaid and CHIP.