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POLLING
VACCINES: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Just 6 in 10 Americans now trust the government’s vaccination recommendations for children, according to the Axios-Ipsos American Health Index, reflecting the dramatic erosion of public trust during the tenure of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. At the same time, nearly 1 in 3 Americans say they personally identify with Kennedy’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tb2zR1
TEEN DRIVING: Via University of Michigan, VERBATIM: “The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health asked a national sample of parents of teens and young adults 16-25 years about their children’s driving habits . . . One-quarter of parents (25%) say they have observed their teen or young adult child engaging in distracted driving, such as texting (17%) or multitasking (19%). Seventeen percent of parents have observed their child driving when impaired, such as driving while sleepy (10%), when emotionally upset (9%), or after drinking alcohol (2%), or using marijuana (2%). Nearly half of parents (44%) have witnessed their child exhibit aggressive driving behaviors, such as speeding (41%), tailgating (12%), or showing “road rage” (6%). Over half (51%) have witnessed at least one type of unsafe driving behavior, and 8% have witnessed all three.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40ydbgr
WORKPLACE: Via Ipsos, VERBATIM: “Three in four full-time employees say it is appropriate to discuss mental health at work, yet nearly half worry they would be judged for doing so, according to the latest NAMI/Ipsos Workplace Mental Health Poll.”
“This hesitation persists as reported stress about the state of the world is on the rise. The share of employees feeling ‘very stressed’ nearly doubled since 2024, and more than half report feeling burned out on the job. Workplace mental health training may help; employees at companies offering such training are more likely to feel supported and less worried about stigma, yet only about one in three have received it.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/419QGyx
WOMEN’S HEALTH: Via Gallup, VERBATIM: “The latest Hologic Global Women’s Health Index shows improvement in key areas of women’s health. More women than at any point in the Index’s five-year history report being tested for high blood pressure, cancer, and diabetes, and report feeling safer in their communities. Yet progress is uneven. Gains in preventive care are concentrated among older women in wealthier countries. At the same time, testing rates in low-income nations remained flat in 2024, and women remain less likely than men to feel safe in 104 of the 144 countries surveyed.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rHE3FV
DRUG PRICES: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “In recent weeks, the Trump administration has renewed focus on lowering the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S., including the launch of TrumpRx. The latest polling from KFF shows that about four in 10 U.S. adults (41%) say it is likely the Trump administration’s policies will lower prescription drug costs for people like them, but views are largely influenced by partisanship. Only the president’s base remains positive, with 79% of Republicans and 88% of Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters saying it is likely the administration will lower prescription drug costs, while much fewer independents (35%) and Democrats (11%) say it is likely.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3P6gitA
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MEDICAID SUPPORTS HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OF US: Medicaid keeps Minnesota’s hospitals strong and ensures communities across the state have access to care. Policymakers must protect Medicaid so every Minnesotan — regardless of income or health status — can get the care they need, when they need it. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3FtrCuH (SPONSORED: Minnesota Hospital Association)
HEALTH IN MINNESOTA
ACQUISITION: Via California-based Sutter, VERBATIM: “Sutter Health and Allina Health have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for Allina Health to join the California-based system, which would create a combined nonprofit health system that will deliver innovative solutions to improve access and affordability and reimagine exceptional care for patients and communities. With Northern California at the forefront of AI and platform development and Minnesota’s position as the leading hub for med-tech and engineering, the proposed combined system will be uniquely positioned to be a national leader in digital and technological advancements that meaningfully improve patients’ and caregivers’ experiences, while continuing to provide the compassionate care their respective communities have relied on for decades.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sKYlPC
MORE: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Sutter Health is a nonprofit group based in Sacramento that’s been looking to expand beyond its home markets in Northern and Central California. As the nation’s 15th-largest health system, Sutter provides same-day, primary, pediatric and specialty care at more than 600 locations, and runs 27 hospital campuses.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sJqEOm
MORE: Via KSTP-TV, VERBATIM: “The sale comes as 600 Allina doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners represented by Doctors Council – SEIU continue to negotiate their first contract since forming a union in October 2023. Union members have authorized multiple strikes, including a vote last week to approve an open-ended unfair labor practices strike, over ongoing frustrations at the bargaining table. Last year, Allina closed four clinics around the metro and shuttered its birth center in Faribault, consolidating its obstetric care services in southern Minnesota to the Owatonna Hospital.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bMI8Uq
ADVISOR: Via news release from the Governor’s office, VERBATIM: “Governor Tim Walz today announced that longtime health care leader and former Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm will serve as Senior Advisor on Hospitals and Health Systems to the Governor’s Office and the Health Subcabinet . . . Her service comes at a critical moment for Minnesota hospitals, which are facing rising costs, workforce shortages, and growing levels of uncompensated care.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sij79F
GRANTS: Via MDE, VERBATIM: “Today, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) announced the award of 31 Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP) Assistance Grants to districts, schools, and educational cooperatives across Minnesota. The grants, totaling $836,000, will support emergency response and preparedness planning in schools. The investments will help schools implement their written and practiced cardiac emergency response plans beginning in the 2026-27 school year with ongoing support, training, and technical assistance from MDE.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lBV8PZ
340B HOSPITAL MARKUPS HURT PATIENTS: Minnesota’s latest 340B report shows covered entities generated $1.34 billion IN PROFIT in 2024, including an estimated $261 million from Medicaid prescriptions. Independent research finds the program raises costs for patients, taxpayers, and employers statewide. Minnesota should sunset the 340B mandate and Congress should fix the federal 340B program, so it actually helps patients. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/46Bh9IA (SPONSORED: PhRMA)
DC + HEALTH
RULING: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “A federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent overhaul of the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule — a major blow to his vaccine agenda. The ruling stems from a lawsuit the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other medical groups brought against the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that Kennedy’s changes to vaccine recommendations and to an influential vaccine advisory committee violated federal law.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40CrzEl
MEASLES: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “In North Dakota, 89 percent of the most recent group of kindergartners were vaccinated. ‘Although 89 percent sounds really high, because measles is so contagious you really need a 95 percent vaccination rate to prevent outbreaks in a community,’ said Molly Howell, director of Disease Control and Forensic Pathology at the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services. In Minnesota, rates are even lower. Just 87 percent of kindergartners had the MMR vaccine in 2024, down from 92 percent in 2019.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/40CKqPC
IMMIGRATION: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Andrea Pedro-Francisco was supposed to have surgery more than a month ago. A cyst on her ovary has swelled to nearly the size of a tennis ball and is now at risk of rupturing or cutting off blood supply. The pain is so severe that her doctor prescribed her an opioid. She’s only received Tylenol or ibuprofen for the pain since she was arrested on her way to work on Feb. 5 in Minnesota and shipped to a Texas detention center, where she’s waiting for a judge to decide whether her detention is even legal.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dmRVli
Poll: Public Worries as Prescription Drug Costs Reach New High, Harming Patients and Safety-Net Hospitals: Despite bipartisan attempts to lower the cost of drugs, a growing majority of Americans are worried about being able to afford prescription drugs, and majorities across parties want the government to do more to regulate prices, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. At the same time, drug prices in Minnesota have increased, on average, more than 37% over the past five years – three times the rate of inflation on medical goods. With 30% of Minnesota’s hospitals operating in the red, immediate relief from the world’s highest drug prices is critical. Lawmakers should pass HF 3609/SF 3769 this session and stop drug companies from robbing resources from rural and safety-net hospitals that Minnesotans rely on every day. READ MORE: Public Views on Prescription Drug Costs: Regulation, Affordability and TrumpRx | KFF (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
INNOVATION & RESEARCH
RURAL CARE: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Jim Checkel always planned to be a farmer. Growing up on his parents’ farm in the small town of Kasson, Minn., he figured he’d work on the farm full-time once he graduated high school. But his parents wanted him to go to college, so he earned a two-year associate’s degree in auto mechanics and started looking for work. Some 40 years ago, he applied at the prestigious Mayo Clinic about 15 miles east of his farm, hoping to work on its fleet of vehicles. There were no mechanic positions available, so Checkel accepted an entry-level position in one of Mayo’s research labs . . . Checkel threw himself into the work and launched what turned out to be an unlikely research career, climbing up the ranks and eventually getting hired by Mayo Clinic’s allergy department. Part of the reason he was hired was his background on the farm.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/475fDPd
RESEARCH: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a promising new way to deliver treatment directly to cholangiocarcinoma tumors, a rare and aggressive bile duct cancer with limited treatment options, using milk-derived nanoparticles that act like guided delivery vehicles. The findings, published in JHEP Reports, point to a potential targeted genetic therapy designed to attack cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4buGPbw
LICENSING: Via Stillwater-based Sub-Q, VERBATIM: “Sub‑Q Bionics, a medical device company developing an innovative implantable lymphatic drainage system designed to help patients living with lymphedema better manage their symptoms, today announced a licensing agreement with Mayo Clinic. Through the agreement, Sub-Q Bionics has licensed clinical know-how from Mayo Clinic related to reconstructive and lymphatic surgery.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40yrKRd
ORAL HEALTH: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Emily Stein, a microbiologist, was pursuing her post-doctoral fellowship in rheumatology and immunology at Stanford University in 2009 when her grandmother suffered a stroke, which Stein says was the result of a tooth extraction . . . Her grandmother’s health scare led Stein to found Primal Therapies in the Bay Area in 2012. Five years later, she relocated to Minneapolis and co-founded a subsidiary, Primal Health, focused on oral health.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sfOcdT
WEIGHT LOSS: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Recent top-line results from a recent trial on retatrutide, a compound that Eli Lilly is developing, found that people with obesity and knee osteoarthritis lost an average of 28.7 percent of their body weight after 68 weeks on the highest dose. Currently available weight-loss drugs have helped people lose around 20 percent of their body weight over the same time period. Between 12 and 18 percent of participants dropped out of the trial because of side effects, a higher percentage than is typical in trials of existing weight loss drugs. The company said that at least some of those people dropped out because they thought they were losing too much weight, alarming some outside researchers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4br1M6X
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CELLS: Via Washington University, VERBATIM: “Scientists have discovered that cells can sense far beyond the surfaces they touch. While individual cancer cells can probe about 10 microns ahead by tugging on surrounding collagen fibers, clusters of normal epithelial cells can combine forces to detect layers as far as 100 microns away. This long-range ‘depth sensing’ helps cells decide where to migrate. Understanding how it works could reveal new targets to stop cancer from spreading.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/475ST1u
PEACE: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Amir Lerman, M.D., a cardiovascular physician-scientist, mentor, research leader and active Mayo Clinic staff member, passed away Feb. 23 at age 69. During his nearly 40 years at Mayo Clinic, he became one of the world’s foremost authorities on microvascular function and cardiovascular disease.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uvsG6B
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