SDOH: From UCare via Instagram, VERBATIM: “When #AI, #healthequity, #quality, #innovation and #SDOH enter the conversation, UCare is there. Shout out to Lauryn Davin, UCare's Health Equity Specialist, for presenting at the ACAP SDOH Innovation Meeting on AI and other tools to address health equity, quality, and social drivers of health challenges.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/48M9G9v (SPONSORED: UCare)
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POLL: Via AHIP, VERBATIM: “With more than half of Americans – approximately 180 million people – receiving health care coverage through work, a new nationwide poll finds that a strong majority are satisfied with their current employer-provided plans (75%) and prefer to get their coverage through an employer rather than through the federal or state government (74%). The poll found that Americans’ satisfaction with employer-provided coverage is driven by the comprehensive coverage (49%), affordability (48%) and choice of providers (45%) their plans provide.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40MncIf
PREMIUMS: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “Family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose 7% this year to reach an average of $25,572 annually, KFF’s 2024 benchmark Employer Health Survey finds. On average, workers contribute $6,296 annually to the cost of family coverage. This marks the second year in a row that premiums are up 7%. Over the past five years—a period of high inflation (23%) and wage growth (28%)—the cumulative increase in premiums has been similar (24%).” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ePWjqy
POT: Via Marijuana Moment, VERBATIM: “For women in the United States, health and wellness are among the leading motivators to try cannabis products or use them more frequently, according to a newly released poll exploring what women want in marijuana. When it comes to picking between cannabis products, meanwhile, price is by far the leading factor.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Z5r2e0
MORE: Via YouGov, from the poll:
FULL RESULTS: https://fluence-media.co/3Z53Koy
RFK JR: Via Modern Healthcare, VERBATIM: “The top US public health official warned about the threat of curtailing vaccination efforts as longtime skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. prepares for an influential role in the incoming Trump administration.” QUOTE: “We have a very short memory of what it is like to hold a child who has been paralyzed with polio, or to comfort a mom who lost their kid from measles,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Mandy Cohen said Wednesday at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit in Washington. “I don’t want to have to see us go backward in order to remind ourselves that vaccines work.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40Ooq5E
FLUORIDE: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s goal of removing fluoride from the water supply faces challenges regardless of what role he plays on health care in the new Trump administration. Days before President-elect Trump’s election, Kennedy wrote on the social platform X that ‘the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.’ But water fluoridation is a local government decision, and it’s unclear if Kennedy could compel municipalities to do away with the cavity-fighting chemical.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48NP28I
MORE: From MDA via PRNewswire, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Dental Association (MDA) today reaffirmed its commitment to supporting water fluoridation as a safe, effective, and essential public health measure for preventing tooth decay and promoting overall oral health. Citing decades of scientific research and endorsements from leading health organizations, the MDA joins national dental associations and health experts in underscoring the role of fluoride in ensuring that Minnesota communities have access to one of the simplest, most cost-effective tools for dental health improvement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3CtKSad
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POLITICS: Via Stat, VERBATIM: “With full control of the House and Senate, President-elect Trump and his fellow Republicans have the power to assert their will over health care policies. The GOP is set to have at least 218 seats in the House of Representatives, maintaining control of the chamber, according to CNN, NBC, and ABC. The party has at least 52 seats in the Senate. Major health care issues are potentially at stake, including subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans, Medicaid funding, restructuring of massive federal agencies like the FDA and CDC, access to telehealth, how Medicare pays doctors, drug middlemen reforms, drug price negotiations, and China’s rise in biotechnology.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40HiwmR
MORE: Via Roll Call, VERBATIM: “Congress’ most influential health panels will see dramatic changes next year, with several advocates on specific issues like mental health, Medicare and drug pricing retiring or losing their reelection bids. The biggest changes will be in store at the House Energy and Commerce Committee, whose wide-ranging jurisdiction includes health insurance, biomedical research, and drug and device safety.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48TX2Fw
ATTORNEY GENERAL: Via The 19th, a look at the impact Rep. Matt Gaetz, President Trump’s pick for Attorney General, could have on reproductive and LGBTQ+ issues. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hLvyG1
MILITARY: Via Military Times, VERBATIM: “Conservative lawmakers hope that scrapping abortion access policies at the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs will be among the first major changes when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. But overturning those policies may not be as easy as a quick executive order. Advocates say that public protests and legal fights — especially in the case of VA rules — could create roadblocks for the incoming president in the months ahead.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Z6sEEx
OPIOIDS: Via CBS News, VERBATIM: “Opioid overdose deaths have now slowed to the lowest levels nationwide since 2020, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This marks the 12th straight month of decline since a peak last year. Around 70,655 deaths linked to opioids like heroin and fentanyl were reported for the year ending June 2024, the CDC now estimates, falling 18% from the same time in 2023.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3OfuqwB
PREEMIES: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Many pregnant women in the U.S., particularly in the South, face inadequate prenatal care, complicated by abortion restrictions, air pollution and extreme heat, according to a new March of Dimes report. As a result, there have been no improvements in the preterm birth rate in the last 10 years. In its annual report, released Thursday, the March of Dimes gave the U.S. a dismal D+ grade based on the number of babies born too soon last year. Last year, the preterm birth rate was 10.4%. In 2022, it was 10.5%. In fact, little has changed in the past decade.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eLZzmx
MEDICARE: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Hospitals performed more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries on Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. over three years, according to a new analysis. Why it matters: Roughly $2 billion was spent on the ‘low value’ procedures while patients were put at risk of poor outcomes, researchers from the Lown Institute wrote.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ctf70W
ALCOHOL: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “The weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy may be beneficial for people struggling with alcohol addiction, a study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry said. The study examined about 228,000 people in Sweden who had alcohol use disorder and Type 2 diabetes. The people who were taking drugs like semaglutide were less likely to be hospitalized for alcohol-related issues.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3AEMr4w
MPOX: From Deb Balzer via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mpox, a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, is a global health concern, with outbreaks in Western and Central African countries spreading into other regions. Recently, health officials in the United Kingdom reported new cases of a mpox strain called clade Ib. The World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern in August. Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, says there are two strains of the virus that cause mpox, clade I and clade II.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4fPo5nF
MEDTRONIC: From Dan Niepow via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “A Beverly Hills surgeon is suing medical device giant Medtronic for alleged patent infringement. In a Nov. 12 suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, Dr. Shirin Towfigh said Medtronic ‘knowingly copied’ her design for a hernia treatment device.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hLEbjP
TRAINING: Via Minnesota Department of Health, VERBATIM: “Registration is now open for our new MDH Project Firstline training series! Join us for a six-part series on all things personal protective equipment (PPE)!” SCHEDULE: https://fluence-media.co/4hKHqrN
DIAMEDICA: From Minnetonka-based DiaMedica via Business Wire, VERBATIM: “DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: DMAC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for severe ischemic diseases, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in DiaMedica’s investigator-sponsored Phase 2 trial of DM199 for the treatment of preeclampsia (PE). DiaMedica anticipates top line data for Part 1A in the first half of 2025 which is expected to demonstrate initial proof-of-concept including whether DM199 is safe and lowers blood pressure. Additionally, for patients with early onset PE, DiaMedica will be looking for improvements in uterine artery dilation, indicating that DM199 therapy is potentially disease modifying in these patients.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Cp4Gv8
MAYO: From Jay Furst via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “The Mayo Clinic Alumni Association is pleased to announce the 2024 recipients of the Mayo Clinic Distinguished Alumni Awards. The six recipients were honored at the Mayo Foundation House in October. The Mayo Clinic Distinguished Alumni Award was established in 1981 by the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees to acknowledge and show appreciation for the exceptional contributions of Mayo alumni to the field of medicine, including medical practice, research, education, and administration. Individuals receiving this award are recognized nationally — and often internationally — in their fields.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4eDt6ic
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MEDS: From American Chemical Society via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Most people don't enjoy getting shots for treatments or vaccines. So, researchers are working to create more medicines, such as those made from messenger RNA (mRNA), that can be sprayed and inhaled. A study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society reports steps toward making inhalable mRNA medicines a possibility. Researchers outline their improved lipid-polymer nanoparticle for holding mRNA that is stable when nebulized and successfully delivers aerosols (liquid droplets) in mice's lungs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40Limuy
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