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POLLING
MAHA: Via Politico, VERBATIM: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ideas have gone mainstream, but his Make America Healthy Again movement is struggling to find its footing. MAHA-coded ideas about food and nutrition are broadly popular and a third of Americans now identify as MAHA supporters. But new results from The POLITICO Poll suggest Kennedy’s movement is disjointed . . . Despite Kennedy’s emphasis on vaccines during his first year as secretary, for instance, fewer than half of MAHA supporters — 42 percent — say vaccines are a core issue for the movement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cfm04c
GLP-1: Via Wondr Health, VERBATIM: “As demand for GLP-1 medications continues to surge across the U.S., accelerated by expanding clinical indications, more market entrants, and novel pricing and access models, new research suggests employer-sponsored health benefits may play a significant role in determining who ultimately uses these treatments. A national survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Wondr Health, the leading provider of behavioral weight management and GLP-1 clinical solutions, finds that coverage policies, behavioral support programs, and social perceptions all influence workers’ willingness to start or sustain GLP-1 treatment.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mlOXQI
AI: Via HealthDay, VERBATIM: “The number of Americans who want artificial intelligence (AI) involved in their health care is declining, a new survey says. Only 42% are open to AI being used as part of their care, down from 52% in 2024, according to the poll commissioned by Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41EafiZ
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
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)
MN + HEALTH
GENDER CARE: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Children’s Minnesota announced Monday it is resuming gender-affirming care for children just over a month after pausing it amid “threats” from the federal government. The hospital temporarily paused prescribing puberty-suppressing medications and pubertal hormones for patients under 18 in the Gender Health program on Feb. 27.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4siT6WE
UOFM: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison showed exasperation Monday with the University of Minnesota administration, because it has failed to reach a final master agreement with M Physicians. In the yearslong saga involving negotiations to reach an operating agreement among the U of M, Fairview Health Services, and M Physicians, Ellison appointed a three-person mediation team last year to bring the parties together. Mediation succeeded in getting the parties to face reality, and they reached a 10-year framework agreement that was unveiled Jan. 26.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bXGVtJ
BIKES: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Rising e-bike and e-motorcycle injuries in Minnesota has public officials reminding what exactly is legal headed into spring. Minnesota state law caps e-bike motors at 750 watts, and top assisted speeds at 28 miles per hour . . . But, e-motos on the other hand often have 1,500, 2,000, or even 3,000 watt motors, making them illegal in the state according to Office of Traffic Safety director Mike Hansen.” QUOTE: “When I talk to my counterparts across the country, particularly in the warm weather states, the number of injuries and the severity of the injuries is going up,” says Hansen. “And that’s a direct result of that weight and speed ratio that e-bikes and e-motors bring into a situation when a crash occurs.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3OeTfwi
NEXTGEN: Via MMA, VERBATIM: “On April 18, the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) and the University of Minnesota Medical School CentraCare Regional Campus St. Cloud will present Rural Youth Medical Careers Discovery Day on the medical school’s St. Cloud campus. This event is in collaboration with the Minnesota Rural Health Association and the University of Minnesota Pre-Health Student Resource Center. Geared toward youth ages 9 and older, the full-day event will provide youth with a hands-on, community-driven opportunity designed to open doors to careers in healthcare for students from rural Minnesota. The event will bring together students, parents, educators, clinicians, and community leaders to encourage young people to explore careers in healthcare.” MORE: https://fluence-media.co/47QAXIC
MAYO: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine has again been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top-rated national medical school. The publication released its latest ‘Best Graduate Schools’ rankings today, placing Mayo Clinic in Tier 1, the highest tier, and highlighting the school’s strength in medical research and its distinctive approach to physician education.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4me5A0B
DEMENTIA: Via KQDS-TV, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar visited the Memory Keepers Discovery Team Center in Duluth to present her bipartisan legislation, AADAPT, to the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Medical School. The legislation AADAPT is known as the Accelerating Access to Dementia and Alzheimer’s Provider Training. Would expand training opportunities, such as continuing education for primary care providers. Its goal is to improve the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4t1eyki
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
MEDICARE: Via Fierce Healthcare, VERBATIM: “Following significant industry outcry over a proposal to keep Medicare Advantage rates largely flat in 2027, the Trump administration has bumped payments up slightly in the final policy. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services initially proposed a 0.09% increase in rates as part of the MA and Part D Advance Notice. In the final rule, the increase is instead set at 2.48%, which CMS said equates to about $13 billion in additional payments to plans for the coming plan year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tyTEcb
MEDICAID: Via Becker’s, VERBATIM: “As the Medicaid cuts from H.R. 1 begin to settle in, states are looking for workarounds to continue funding their programs. Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill March 25 allowing a steeper HMO tax, which will also affect managed care organizations, to bolster the state’s Medicaid program . . . Iowa’s law could be one other states look to as they seek to recoup Medicaid funds. H.R. 1 effectively eliminated new or increased provider taxes, a key source of Medicaid funding.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4me6Pgh
FOREIGN DOCS: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “One Nigerian doctor performed knee and hip replacement surgeries at a New York teaching hospital. A Venezuelan physician treated people with diabetes and hypertension in rural Texas. A U.S.-trained ophthalmologist from Iran can no longer perform eye surgeries in Arkansas. All three physicians have been forced to stop seeing patients after they were pushed out of their jobs because of a Trump administration policy that took effect in January and froze visa extensions, work permits and green cards for citizens of 39 countries as well as people with Palestinian Authority travel documents.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PYZQeY
PEDS: Via Insight News, VERBATIM: “Drivers struck and killed 3,024 people walking during the first half of 2025, an average of 16 per day, according to a new data analysis from the Governors Highway Safety Association(GHSA). That is an 11% decline from the same period the year before – the largest drop since GHSA began tracking pedestrian fatalities 15 years ago. While this recent safety momentum is positive, pedestrian deaths remain above the 2019 level, the last year before a steep rise in dangerous driving behaviors and traffic deaths caused by the pandemic.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tDIJhr
RSV: Via CNN, VERBATIM: “Respiratory syncytial virus is continuing to spread later into the spring than usual, driving most states to extend the window for RSV immunizations for eligible infants and toddlers. RSV is a common respiratory virus that typically causes a mild illness like a cold. But it can cause serious illness for young children. The RSV season usually starts in the fall, peaks in the winter and continues into spring. Immunization is recommended through the end of March in most states, but this year, nearly all of those states have extended the immunization period through the end of April.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sgfAI5
GOLF: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “As golfers head back to the course during peak golf season, Mayo Clinic sports medicine and orthopedic experts are available to discuss the most common early-season golf injuries, how to prevent them, and when to seek medical attention. While headlines may focus on injuries affecting professional golfers, including Achilles tendon, back and ankle issues, most golf injuries are not sudden. They develop over time and are often preventable with proper warm-up, strength and mechanics.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cdbaf6
MORE THAN A HOSPITAL: In communities across Minnesota, Essentia Health directly or indirectly supports nearly 19,000 jobs and generates $5.7 billion in labor output every year. From Deer River to Aurora and Detroit Lakes, hospitals are often the largest local employer and keep communities healthy. Learn more about Essentia Health’s economic impact here. (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
INDUSTRY & INNOVATION
MAY 13: Via Nurse.org, details of the Twins Nurse Appreciation Night. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4sixRnO
NEW CEO: Via New Brighton-based Sagent, VERBATIM: “Sagent Behavioral Health announced the appointment of Shawna Gisch as Chief Executive Officer effective April 6, succeeding Mark Peterson, who will continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors. Gisch brings more than two decades of healthcare leadership experience across UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, and Optum Rx, with deep expertise in Medicaid, healthcare policy, and large‑scale operational management.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Os2ZDA
NONIN: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Nonin Medical, a Plymouth-based designer and manufacturer of medical devices, named Todd Austin as its new CEO in November. Nonin develops monitoring equipment, notably pulse, cerebral, and tissue oximeters, which measure oxygen saturation in the blood, brain, and tissue hemoglobin, respectively. Austin grew up in a North Dakota farming family and has spent five decades working in health care.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cviQuk
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
PROTEINS: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new method to identify which proteins are most likely to trigger an immune response — a discovery that could help improve transplant care, regenerative biotherapeutics and other areas of medicine where the immune system plays a critical role. The results, published in Biomaterials, challenge a common assumption in the field that all proteins are equally likely to provoke immune reactions.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4crikgV
BRAIN: Via UC San Francisco, VERBATIM: “Scientists have uncovered a powerful new clue in the mystery of brain aging: a single protein called FTL1. In aging mice, higher levels of this protein weakened connections between brain cells and led to memory decline. But when researchers reduced FTL1, something remarkable happened — the brain began to recover, rebuilding lost connections and restoring memory performance.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cdovUH
TEETH: Via Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, VERBATIM: “Scientists have created an artificial saliva using a sugarcane protein that can protect teeth and fight bacteria. The key ingredient, CANECPI-5, binds directly to enamel, forming a shield against acids that cause decay. Early tests show it works even better when paired with fluoride and xylitol, significantly reducing damage to teeth. The innovation could be especially life-changing for cancer patients who lose saliva production after treatment.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41m8Ihf
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