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POLLING
AI: Via Ohio State, VERBATIM: “Artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere – on our jobs, in our homes and at the doctor’s office. While the use of AI grows, a new survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center finds fewer Americans are open to AI being used in their health care. The national poll of 1,007 adults found only 42% are open to AI being used as part of their care compared to 52% when this survey first ran in 2024. The belief that AI can make some health processes more efficient also fell, going from 64% to 55%.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ceFKol
CHATBOTS: Via Healthcare Dive, VERBATIM: “Americans are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for health information, but many users don’t see the responses as highly accurate, according to a survey published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. More than 20% of respondents said they at least sometimes use AI chatbots for health questions, including 7% who turn to AI for health information often or extremely often, according to the poll.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dEiLFH
MORE: UofM CIDRAP sums up both of the above polls this way, QUOTE: “The polls show a confusing world for Americans, one in which digital media has made health and medical information incredibly easy to access but increasingly difficult to trust.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tDeffq
CAREGIVERS: Via University of Michigan, VERBATIM: “When it comes to opinions about paying for, and getting access to, care for older adults, direct experience appears to matter a lot, a new University of Michigan study finds. People aged 50 and over who serve as unpaid family caregivers for adults over 65 are more likely than non-caregivers to say that the government should have primary responsibility for paying for the care of older Americans, at 51% vs. 43%.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4c1m48H
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 + MN
RURAL HOSPITALS: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Senate passed updated healthcare legislation Tuesday night, which rural hospitals are calling critical. The 340B drug pricing program currently in place in Minnesota allows safety-net hospitals to receive prescription drugs from pharmaceutical companies at a discounted price. The bill recently passed in the Senate would renew that discount program and add enforcement previously lacking in the current law that would hold pharmaceutical companies accountable.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4tGb6eX
(DISCLOSURE: Essentia and PhRMA are Fluence sponsors)
HEPATITIS: Via MDH, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) published its first-ever Viral Hepatitis Elimination Plan, outlining more than 100 actions aimed at preventing, diagnosing, treating and responding to viral hepatitis A, B and C . . . Viral hepatitis continues to be a notable public health issue in Minnesota. Hepatitis A causes short-term illness, but it can lead to hospitalization or even death. Hepatitis B and hepatitis C can cause lifelong disease, leading to long-term outcomes like liver cancer, liver failure and death.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4c0cGCl
WATER SAFETY: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “An early ice-out on lakes across the state is prompting a warning from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s office for boaters. The county water patrol officially declared Lake Minnetonka open for boaters last Friday, nearly 10-days earlier than normal. Hennepin County Lieutenant Rick Rehman says people should be on the lookout for submerged hazards, and near freezing water temperatures.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4sYd9uH
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)
WAR IN IRAN
HELIUM: Via Health Policy Watch, VERBATIM: “The gas that keeps hospital MRI scanners running has been caught in the crossfire of the war in Iran, raising the prospect of diagnostic delays, rising costs and rationing of one of modern medicine’s most important imaging tools . . . Iranian missile strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City in late February caused three fires and destroyed approximately 17% of the country’s LNG export capacity. QatarEnergy, the state-run energy firm, halted all production on March 2, stating production will resume only when security in the Strait of Hormuz is guaranteed, taking a third of global helium supply offline.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48n8udu
OTHER SUPPLIES: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “The war in Iran has stalled global supplies of fuel, fertilizers and also medical supplies, due to the restriction of shipments in the Strait of Hormuz. Aid groups are worried. The International Rescue Committee and Save the Children told NPR that clinics and humanitarian centers across the Middle East, Asia and Africa are facing the risk of running out of basic medication and food.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4c0h18B
DC + HEALTH
MEDICAID: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “In 2021, Medicaid covered substance use disorder treatments for about 102,500 Minnesotans — nearly 11% of beneficiaries ages 12 and older — according to the most recent federal data. Currently, Medicaid covers roughly half of all substance use disorder treatments in the state, according to Minnesota’s Department of Human Services . . . The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, or H.R.1, signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025, aims to reduce spending on federal programs like Medicaid in part by culling its rolls. Even though the bill includes protections for people with substance use disorder, patients and providers fear they’re hardly a guarantee.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vm8Rie
UNINSURED: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “For the first time since 2019, the number of people without health coverage and the uninsured rate increased in 2024. The total number of people ages 0-64 without health coverage increased by more than 1.3 million to 26.7 million in 2024, and the uninsured rate for the population under age 65 increased from 9.5% to 9.8%. A decline in Medicaid coverage drove the increase in the uninsured rate in 2024. While non-group coverage, including ACA Marketplace coverage, increased from 2023 to 2024, the increase did not fully offset the drop in Medicaid coverage from 2023 to 2024 among both adults and children.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tvWMp4
FOOD AID: Via States Newsroom, VERBATIM: “At least 2.5 million low-income people quickly lost help affording groceries under a Republican-passed law that added new requirements for the nation’s largest nutrition program and shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in costs from the federal government to states, according to a study the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published Wednesday. Some 6% of the 41 million Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, when President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, 2025, were no longer receiving benefits by the end of the year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4t0A08S
FERTILITY: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “The U.S. fertility rate fell slightly in 2025, to another record low, extending two decades of declines, according to federal data released on Thursday. The fertility rate — the number of births per 1,000 women of childbearing age — dropped to 53.1, from 53.8 in 2024, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The number of births dropped too, falling by 1 percent from the previous year, to 3,606,400.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vslHMf
RFK JR: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is launching a new podcast that he says will begin ‘a new era of radical transparency in government,’ according to a teaser video first obtained by The Associated Press. The show, titled ‘The Secretary Kennedy Podcast,’ will launch next week and feature Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine crusader who has reshaped the country’s health policy, in conversation with doctors, scientists and agency staff, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials told the AP ahead of the launch.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tD66HQ
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
FOSSTON: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “A groundbreaking held in Fosston on Wednesday signaled the beginning of a $12 million project for a brand-new emergency department for Essentia Health-Fosston.” QUOTE: “This project will add more than 5,500 square ft. to our emergency department and create more efficient and welcoming space for our patients, families, staff, and visitors,” said Mike Curtis, Essentia Health-Fosston Administrator, at the ceremony. “This groundbreaking represents much more than a construction project: it reflects our commitment to the people of Fosston, to our staff, and to the future of care in this region.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4skrzUP
(DISCLOSURE: Essentia is a Fluence sponsor)
ROSEVILLE: The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports on plans by Hempel Real Estate to building a medical lab facility in Roseville. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ckDX1h
BRAIN TUMORS: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic researchers developed an experimental nanotherapy that delivers two cancer drugs directly to brain tumors, according to a study published in Nature Communications Medicine. The strategy extended survival in preclinical models of glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vmlolO
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
WEIGHT LOSS: Via Vanderbilt, VERBATIM: “Weight loss drugs and bariatric surgery may work differently, but they lead to surprisingly similar results inside the body. Both significantly reduce fat while also causing a modest loss of muscle, reshaping overall body composition. Since muscle helps protect against early death, this balance matters more than the number on the scale. The study suggests these treatments improve health—but not without trade-offs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cxkonA
BRAIN DRAIN: Via Medical University of South Carolina, VERBATIM: “A hidden waste-removal pathway in the brain has finally been caught in action. Using cutting-edge MRI scans, researchers discovered that fluid flows along the middle meningeal artery in a slow, lymphatic-like pattern—very different from blood. This confirms the presence of a previously unknown drainage hub in humans. The finding could transform how scientists approach brain aging, injury, and diseases like Alzheimer’s.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41oYY5P
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