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POLLING
AFFORDABILITY: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “A new state report is pulling back the curtain on some of the reasons why health care so expensive. One in four Minnesotans delayed surgery or prescriptions last year due to cost, according to the first legislative report from the Center for Health Care Affordability. These new figures highlight a troubling trend as Minnesota’s uninsured rate climbed to 5.8%.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4uQ4Gey
WOMEN’S HEALTH: Via The Well, VERBATIM: “A majority of Americans of every political persuasion believe that women’s health care deserves greater attention and that policymakers can and should do more to increase women’s access to a range of critical services. That was the core finding of a poll released Thursday by Center Forward, a group dedicated to fostering cross-party dialogue in Washington.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bFszww
MORE: Via Center Forward, the full poll results. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/487WQ66
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 MINNESOTA
MEDICAID: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “It got lost in the shuffle of a news week that included a federal immigration agent killing Renee Good. But at the start of January, Minnesota Department of Human Services officials rang the alarm that the Trump administration was poised to cut off more than $2 billion over the course of the year in Medicaid funds . . . But on Thursday, CMS sent a letter to the Department of Human Services indicating a sea change in their plan to claw back Medicaid dollars.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41pIFpj
MORE: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Unfortunately, the federal government is about as clear on this issue as Trump’s various tariff plans and Iran war aims. In the Thursday letter, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services stopped short of explicitly stating that its approval would at least temporarily halt its funding threats to Minnesota, though that’s what it has previously indicated.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NoKqjr
HOSPITALS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Medicare payment problems are generating steep financial hardships for some of Minnesota’s rural hospitals at a time when many are struggling to stay afloat. State hospital leaders and officials at several rural hospitals say they have been vexed by a recent payment processing change by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that is effectively holding back millions of dollars needed to pay the bills.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bshuA8
OPIOIDS: Via Stateline, VERBATIM: “Since their peak less than three years ago, opioid overdose deaths dropped nearly by half as of October, according to a Stateline analysis. The drop comes as a shrinking fentanyl supply has made the drug weaker and less deadly and volunteer efforts get more people into treatment. The weaker fentanyl tracks to a crackdown on materials used to make fentanyl in China around the time U.S. deaths started dropping in 2023. Some experts see it as a welcome, but possibly temporary, break for states in a scourge that boosted crime as people who are using the drugs sometimes fall into homelessness and steal to support fentanyl habits.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ptz8Lq
RSV: Via KTTC-TV, VERBATIM: “Data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows most of southeast Minnesota is showing no or very few RSV hospitalizations recently. Despite low numbers, Steele County is listed as a ‘high-risk’ level based on its RSV hospitalizations. Respiratory syncytial virus causes infections of the lungs and respiratory tract. Mayo Clinic says it can be severe in some people including babies, older adults, and people who are immunocompromised.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4sYok6m
MORE: Via MDH, maps showing hospitalizations by county for COVID-19, Influenza, and RSV. MAPS: https://fluence-media.co/4uO3hFd
FISH: Via MDH, VERBATIM: “After analyzing data showing the presence of mercury and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the tissue of some fish from certain Minnesota waterbodies, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has updated its fish consumption guidelines. The updates include new length-based guidelines for walleye and northern pike, more protective guidelines for Northeast Minnesota, and new guidelines for the Vermillion River in Dakota and Scott counties.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PlBw6V
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
ABORTION: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, anti-abortion rights advocates have continuously pursued laws and court cases to make access to abortion more difficult. A report published Tuesday finds those efforts haven’t worked in one basic way: The number of abortions in the country hasn’t budged. ‘There were an estimated 1,126,000 abortions provided by clinicians in the U.S. in 2025 — that’s pretty much unchanged from 2024,’ says Isaac Maddow-Zimet, data scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization that supports abortion access.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uPHywH
MORE: Via Guttmacher, from the report:
FULL REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/4rQkACY
FAXES: Via MedPage Today, VERBATIM: “So long, fax machines -- we hardly knew ye. ‘The 1980s called, and they want their fax machines back,’ Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, administrator of CMS, said in a press release announcing a final rule from the agency that establishes national standards for the electronic exchange of clinical documentation used to support healthcare claims.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4svGTyO
DOCS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “The Trump administration’s suspension of certain immigrants’ work authorization renewals is sidelining possibly thousands of foreign-born doctors, some of the affected physicians tell Axios. Why it matters: The policy could worsen access to care in a health system already facing physician shortages. About a quarter of the U.S. physician workforce are immigrants. Rural communities especially depend on immigrant doctors to fill workforce gaps.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4taituQ
For rural hospitals, 340B isn’t a windfall – it’s a lifeline: 30% of Minnesota hospitals are operating in the red. Savings from the 340B Drug Pricing Program help keep the doors open for safety-net hospitals that serve the most rural and underserved populations. Legislators can support access to local, high-quality care in their districts by strengthening the 340B program this session. READ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4uPSZV1 (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
HEALTH HEADLINES
SEPSIS: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “Sepsis is a fast-moving, life-threatening condition that occurs when the body overreacts to an infection, sometimes causing permanent organ damage and death. A new study, published yesterday in JAMA, identified sepsis in 1.3% of hospitalized US children ages one month to 17 years old. The study, which included data from nearly four million admissions from 2016 through 2023, found that 10% of children with sepsis died while in the hospital.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40O6sPB
NEXTGEN: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Innovation in healthcare begins with curiosity — and with caregivers who are trained to ask better questions. At Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education (MCSGME), the Clinical Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Academy helps residents and fellows build an entrepreneurial mindset by integrating hands‑on innovation, collaboration and problem‑solving directly into their training.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47g1G0Y
GRANT: Via Northern Lights Foundation, VERBATIM: “The Northern Lights Foundation is proud to announce the creation of the Shimia Nord Legacy Grant, an annual $5,000 grant established to honor the remarkable life and inspirational spirit of Shimia Nord. Shimia, a Duluth East High School graduate, passed away after a courageous battle with cancer in September 2025 at the age of 18. The grant is being launched in March, Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, to bring greater awareness to the disease Shimia so bravely faced.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NWgBa0
ECUMEN: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “On March 10, Ecumen, a Shoreview-based nonprofit senior care and housing provider, announced a transition in leadership, with Cyrus Batheja taking over as president and CEO. Shelly Kendrick, who had been president and CEO since 2019, announced her retirement in September.” Q&A: https://fluence-media.co/40RtUeM
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
INSULIN: Via Kumamoto University, VERBATIM: “For over a century, scientists have chased the dream of insulin pills, but the digestive system kept destroying the drug before it could work—forcing millions of patients to rely on daily injections. Now, researchers at Kumamoto University have developed a clever workaround using a tiny peptide that helps insulin slip through the intestinal wall.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4d8M8jb
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