January 11, 2024
As of January 1, Minnesota patients with rare diseases will have better access to appropriate specialists who may be out-of-network.
Last session, the Legislature passed a "network access bill” that aims to reduce the diagnostic odyssey, address health equity and improve outcomes for Minnesotans with rare diseases.
The policy is geared toward any Minnesota resident with a diagnosis of a rare disease as defined by the Genetic and Rare Disease Center list, created by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It also applies to those who:
have received two or more clinical consultations from a primary care provider or specialty provider that are specific to the presenting complaint;
and have documentation in the enrollee’s medical record of a developmental delay through standardized assessment, developmental regression, failure to thrive, or progressive multisystemic involvement;
and have had laboratory or clinical testing that failed to provide a definitive diagnosis or resulted in conflicting diagnoses.
For more information on access barriers, read the Minnesota Rare Disease Advisory Council's Healthcare Access Study here.
August 28, 2025
The apparent removal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director, Susan Monarez, PhD, after just weeks on the job, further imperils the work of the CDC and the health of Americans. Her removal was followed by the resignations of other senior leaders at the CDC, who have accused HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of undermining scientific recommendations for vaccines.
August 26, 2025
University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham, MD, will speak at the Empowering Physicians: A Night of Learning & Connection event on Friday, September 26, from 4 to 9 pm, at the historic Hewing Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.
August 26, 2025
America's physicians are seeing a rise in misinformation and disinformation from patients these days, and it’s impacting patient care, according to a new study from the Physicians Foundation.