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POLLING
HEALTH COSTS: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “New KFF polling explores the challenges beyond costs that people with insurance face in navigating the health care system. People cite prior authorization review as their top problem by a wide margin, with a third (32%) saying prior authorization requirements are a ‘major burden.’”
READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aauwAd FULL RESULTS: https://fluence-media.co/4athoHM
SENIORS: Newsmax reports on a poll by conservative coalition Seniors Matter for America. VERBATIM: “The poll shows 81% support lowering drug costs by giving seniors direct access to the best available prices, an approach that aligns with growing frustration over high prescription costs. Meanwhile, support for Medicare and Medicare Advantage remains strong, with 62% of voters backing the programs. The survey also highlights resistance to sweeping government-run health care proposals.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aaQx25
TYLENOL: Via Mediaite, VERBATIM: “YouGov has been conducting tracking polls to measure how Tylenol’s brand fared with American before and after Trump and Kennedy’s press conference urging people, especially pregnant women and children, to avoid taking it. According to the pollster’s analysis, their results show ‘a clear case study in how political controversy can fragment consumer response without permanently damaging a long-established brand.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qdKn7a
HYPERTENSION: Via MedPage Today, VERBATIM: “Blood pressure control remains elusive for most adults in the U.S. with hypertension, although they are typically close enough to make control fairly straightforward, nationally representative data showed. In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2021-2023 data, 79.1% of adults with hypertension didn’t have their blood pressure within the 130 mm Hg systolic and 80 mm Hg diastolic threshold recommended by guidelines, Shakia T. Hardy, PhD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues reported in JAMA.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NU4Al4
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)
HEALTH IN MN
GENDER CARE: Via KARE-TV, VERBATIM: “Children’s Minnesota announced Tuesday that it would temporarily pause some gender-affirming care practices starting on Feb. 27. In a press release, the hospital team stated its Gender Health program is not closed and staff will continue to offer supportive care, mental health services and guidance on medical and non-medical treatment options for patients and families.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4a77t9y
MORE: Via Children’s Minnesota, VERBATIM: “As one of the leading pediatric providers of gender-affirming care in the region, we have recently experienced an increase in federal actions directed at health systems like ours that provide this care. These actions jeopardize the stability of Minnesota’s only comprehensive pediatric health care system, and they threaten our clinicians’ ability to practice medicine now and in the future.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4teE4Dd
REACTION: Via Minnesota Queer Legislators Caucus, VERBATIM: “Any loss of access to healthcare in Minesota–even temporarily is unacceptable. Targeting vulnerable trans kids in this way is simply horrific. Children’s Minnesota and its dedicated providers have been a strong source of acceptance and affirmation for young trans and non-binary Minnesotans, and we know families across the state are reeling from this news. As a trans refuge state, we refuse to let political bullying put our children at risk.”
THIS MONTH: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “February is American Heart Month, a built-in reminder that heart health isn’t only a ‘someday’ goal—it’s the everyday habits that add up over years. Heart disease remains a leading cause of death nationally, and in Minnesota it continues to take a significant toll: the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reports 8,972 heart-disease deaths in 2022 (about 17% of all deaths), plus more than 45,000 acute heart-disease hospitalizations that year.” RESOURCES: https://fluence-media.co/4tgJ0r2
RETIREMENT: WalletHub ranks Minnesota the 5th best statement for retirement. We earned the top spot in the health care category. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/49UTvc2
DOCUMENTARY: Via The Phoenix Spirit, the story behind a documentary about opioid addiction in Anoka County. VERBATIM: “Faces of Hope emerged, a documentary which tells the story of real people who have lived the story—their own personal journeys. And this sobering truth was apparent to me when I visited the Faces of Hope website. I was immediately drawn in by the rawness, the truth, but also the hope from those telling their stories, no matter how the story had ended. So, how did this particular story begin?” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4azpIVB
MORE: Via WCCO-Radio, an interview with the filmmakers. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3ZgoetV
DULUTH: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Duluth residents came together Monday night to honor Alex Pretti’s life. Local healthcare workers organized a memorial walk. The ‘Nightingale Walk’ began at Minnesota Power Plaza in downtown Duluth.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4rlnpvK
TEAR GAS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “It’s become a not-uncommon scene in the Twin Cities in recent weeks, as federal agents who are part of the federal immigration operation regularly deploy chemical irritants to deter observers and protesters. Medical experts say there’s a lot they still don’t know about the health impacts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49UAUgi
MEASLES: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “U.S. immigration officials have imposed quarantines and stopped all movement inside a family detention facility in Texas after two measles cases were confirmed among detainees there, a Department of Homeland Security official said on Monday. The Dilley Immigration Processing Center, also called the South Texas Family Residential Center, is about 70 miles south of San Antonio and is currently the main detention center in the country that houses families, including young children.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NMY4N5
FROM DC
CANCER RESEARCH: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “Inside a cancer research laboratory on the campus of Harvard Medical School, two dozen small jars with pink plastic lids sat on a metal counter. Inside these humble-looking jars is the core of Joan Brugge’s current multiyear research project . . . In late 2024, Brugge and her colleagues identified specific cells in breast tissue that contain the genetic seeds of breast tumors . . . Work in Brugge’s lab slowed significantly last year. In April, her $7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health was frozen, along with virtually all other federal money awarded to Harvard researchers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3M1E1Kf
ABORTION: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) has filed to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit against the Trump administration that sought to challenge the decision to cut off Medicaid funding to abortion providers . . . The organization filed its lawsuit in July of last year after President Trump signed the GOP’s budget reconciliation bill, which included a section that disallowed federal funding from going to abortion providers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4r29BGU
ADDICTION: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday that the federal government would expand funding for faith-based addiction treatment as a response to mounting public drug use and homelessness in American cities. Mr. Kennedy, who credits 12-step programs with helping him end a 14-year heroin addiction as a young man, said a fragmented health care system had encouraged people with mental illness and addiction to ‘cycle endlessly between sidewalks, emergency room visits, jails and mental hospitals and shelters.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bAi13A
DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL HEALTH CARE, ESSENTIA IS RECOGNIZED FOR PROVIDING TOP CLINICAL CARE: According to the latest report from Minnesota Community Measurement, a statewide resource on health care quality, costs and equity, Essentia ranked as a high performer with 19 of 20 clinical quality metrics scoring above statewide averages. According to Dr. Maria Beaver, chief quality and patient safety officer at Essentia: “This is a testament to the amazing care provided by all our clinical care teams and all our colleagues who support them.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dCxy1D (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
MEDICAL INNOVATION
MASTECTOMY: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center is expanding surgical options for patients undergoing treatment or risk reducing procedures for breast cancer through the adoption of robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy at its Minnesota and Florida campuses. Following recent Food and Drug Administration approval of the use of this platform and device for these procedures, Mayo Clinic surgeons are now offering a minimally invasive approach designed to improve cosmetic outcomes, preserve skin and nipple viability, and broaden opportunities for potential sensory restoration.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LOWeL1
AI: Via Stat, VERBATIM: “The Department of Health and Human Services is rapidly acquiring and integrating artificial intelligence tools, according to recently released data from the agency’s technology office. The data give a first look into how HHS is implementing directives to aggressively implement AI across the government under President Trump’s revamped federal AI plans. Information in the data release also shed light on how the Trump administration plans to implement new programs with thousands fewer HHS staff than it had a year ago.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45IyMpw
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
RESEARCH
ALZHEIMER’S: Via University College London, VERBATIM: “When the brain rests, it usually replays recent experiences to strengthen memory. Scientists found that in Alzheimer’s-like mice, this replay still occurs — but the signals are jumbled and poorly coordinated. As a result, memory-supporting brain cells lose their stability, and the animals struggle to remember where they’ve been.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tbAycR
MIDDLE AGE: Via Arizona State University, VERBATIM: “Middle age is becoming a tougher chapter for many Americans, especially those born in the 1960s and early 1970s. Compared with earlier generations, they report more loneliness and depression, along with weaker physical strength and declining memory. These troubling trends stand out internationally, as similar declines are largely absent in other wealthy nations, particularly in Nordic Europe, where midlife well-being has improved.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qUJ2mO
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