23 Jun 2024

Letters: Gov. Walz’s response to the Feeding Our Future scandal? Feeble

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The governor’s feeble response

Gov. Walz’s feeble response to revelations of the state’s egregiously flawed oversight of the Feeding Our Future program was extremely disappointing.

Addressing the scathing criticism by the Legislative Auditor of his administration’s “actions and inactions” contributing to the massive $250 million fraud, the governor accepted responsibility but then shifted the blame to COVID and other features.

His declaration that “We can always do better” sounds more like a political campaign slogan than any real contrition or resolve to impose discipline or other corrective action to sanction the responsible parties, besides himself, and prevent any semblance of recurrence.

Marshall H. Tanick, Minneapolis

 

‘His mission for Jayson’

Sainted: Mary Divine for interviewing us and featuring our story in Sunday’s Pioneer Press (“His mission for Jayson,” June 16). This was such a good and needed experience for us. Mary brought a lot out of us that we haven’t really shared in the past.

We believe that through her article, many parents and grandparents will talk to our youth. We feel that the parents are scared of this epidemic and honestly, to some degree, they should be. We just want them to get past the “it couldn’t happen to us” for whatever reason they come up with. If they can get past that, they will at least keep a watchful eye on their loved ones.

We think Mary’s article will have all who read it thinking twice. The Pioneer Press has done a great thing in publishing it. Thank you, Mary, for bringing back the hidden memories, good and bad for us. We needed that.  Also, you are true professional and a kind-hearted person. We are sure that Jayson thanks you as well.

Jay and Vickie Pernu, Lake Elmo

 

Why is it so difficult to get the Twins back on TV?

My mother is 97 years old, and has been a devoted Twins fan for many years. She lives in a senior living community now where streaming services are not available, and her one enjoyment was watching the Twins on TV. She wouldn’t miss a game.

Now that the games are not available any longer, it has left a huge void in her life. I wonder how many other seniors are missing the games, just like her. This is a special group of people in our community who have stood behind the team for years and are now being let down because of bickering over money.

Why is it so difficult to figure out how to get baseball back on TV for these special fans? My mother is waiting.  Don’t continue to let her and all the rest of us down.

Andrea Wheeler, Maplewood

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23 Jun 2024

Literary calendar for week of June 23

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TRACY CHEVALIER: Bestselling author brings her new novel, “The Glassmaker,” to Talk of the Stacks presented by Friends of the Hennepin County Library. Chevalier, who loves Venice and wanted to get to know it better, discovered that glass has been made for centuries on Murano, an island just off the coast of Venice where for a long time beads were the only glass objects women could make, so she focuses on a fictional woman and her glassmaking family. The story moves from Renaissance-era Italy to the present day. Chevalier has written 11 novels, including “Girl With a Pearl Earring.” 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 27, Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Mpls. Free. In-person tickets are all taken; sign up for Zoom access at info.supporthclib.org.

DAVID HOUSEWRIGHT: Award-winning Minnesotan reads from “Man in the Water,” latest in his series featuring unofficial P.I. Rushmore “Mac” McKenzie, whose wife finds a body half in the water, frozen to a ladder at a marina on the St. Croix River. 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 25, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.

JOSEPH KUEFLER: Minnesota author/illustrator hosts a story time celebrating “The Digger and the Dark,” fourth in his popular Digger series. In this one Digger and the other big trucks, including Crane and Sweeps, are ready to tuck themselves into bed but two wide-awake, mischievous raccoons have other ideas. 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 29, Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.

PATRICK NATHAN: Minnesotan discusses his new novel, “The Future Was Color,” about a Hungarian immigrant working as a studio hack in post-World War II Hollywood, navigating the McCarthy-era studio system and living the life of closeted men along Sunset Boulevard. When his friend, a famous actress, offers him a writing residency at her Malibu estate, his world is blown open. This will be a live radio interview with Josh Weber, host of Write On Radio. 6 p.m. doors open; 7 p.m. program. Tuesday, June 25, Gray Duck Tavern, 345 N. Wabasha St., St. Paul, presented by SubText Books.

POETRY AND JAZZ: Fourth annual Poetry and Jazz in the Holy Ground featuring the jazz duo of Larry McDonough and Richard Terrill, as well as the launch of the poetry chapbook “The Nations Underground: Writing With Our Ancestors” with more than a dozen area poets reading from the book along with featured poets Margaret Hasse, Patrick Cabello Hansel and Dralandra Larkins. Hands-on lantern-making workshop led by local artists from the Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts. Presented by the Semilla Center and Not Dead Yet Poets Society. Free. 2 p.m. Saturday, June 29, Pioneers and Soldiers Cemetery, 2945 Cedar Ave., Mpls.

GABRIELLE ZEVIN: Celebrates publication of the paperback edition of her novel “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” which sold more than a million copies since the widely praised hardcover was published two years ago. It’s the story of three young people who meet as college students and design popular video games that bring them fame, joy and tragedy in the next 30 years. In conversation with Minnesotan Antonia Angress, author of “Sirens & Muses.” 7 p.m. Friday, June 28, Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Ave., Mpls., presented by Magers & Quinn. $27-$37. Ticket information at theparkwaytheater.com/all-events/gabrielle-zevin.

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23 Jun 2024

Joe Grogan: Access to new Alzheimer’s treatments bogged down by Medicare policy

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Alzheimer’s is a progressive, fatal disease that boggled scientists for a century.

In the past 30 years, $42 billion has been invested in research and development of drugs that could treat it. More than 150 trials ended in failure.

Now, at last, we have two treatments with significant clinical benefit — one, lecanemab, approved by the Food and Drug Administration and another, donanemab, recently endorsed by its advisory panel — and a scientific pathway that could one day point the way toward a cure.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear how quickly patients and their families will be able to benefit. It could be months before the FDA approves donanemab. These drugs work best at early stages of this progressive disease. Patients who could see results from treatment today may not be eligible tomorrow. Our agencies must refocus their efforts on ensuring safe, appropriate access for people who may benefit from the first new treatments for Alzheimer’s in three decades.

Eisai’s Leqembi (lecanemab) received FDA approval more than a year ago after demonstrating a 27% decline in early disease progression; donanemab achieved 35%.

But rather than cover the drug for seniors who need it, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers Medicare, restricted access, citing the very safety concerns the FDA scrutinized before granting approval.

The result? After more than a year on the market, the drug has reached only 5,000 patients.

Though the FDA reviewed the data and determined lecanemab’s benefit outweighed the risks, CMS continues to press for more data on its clinical benefit and safety.

The agency isn’t supposed to consider cost in a coverage decision, but that certainly seems to be a factor. It effectuated one of the largest premium increases in the history of the Medicare program to manage the projected budget impact of a similar Alzehimer’s drug, Aduhelm — then restricted access to it and rebalanced premiums.

The tool used to nullify these drugs is “coverage with evidence development,” or CED. This program was designed to speed new technologies to market, protect patients and spur innovation. But CMS has warped its purpose, using CED to impede access not only to Alzheimer’s treatments but to diagnostic too.

PET scans are the gold standard for diagnosing Alzheimer’s by confirming the presence of amyloid plaque in the brain. A second test is used after treatment to confirm that plaques have been removed. After tying up these tests in CED for more than a decade, CMS finally concluded last October what we’ve known for years: that the preponderance of data supports using PET scans to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.

Now we must ensure equitable access to these tools in practice. The new drugs deliver the most benefit when administered early in the progression of disease, so getting a timely, accurate diagnosis is crucial.

Yet even where a patient can get access to the drug under CED, the process is burdensome for physicians, who must enter patient data in an approved registry or study to secure Medicare coverage.

This adds an uncompensated layer of bureaucracy to the management of a disease that is already very complex to diagnose and treat. CMS maintains that its digital database is easy to use, but the policy is disconnected from the reality on the ground.

Neurologists’ offices are packed trying to manage the demands of an aging population. Appointments can be backed up for more than a year. Memory centers at elite medical institutions can train staff to navigate these additional tasks, but remote facilities are struggling. The result is that fewer patients have ready access to the treatment.

Donanemab faces all the same headwinds. Let’s hope a swift FDA approval is followed by a new CMS policy that helps ensure people who need these treatments can get them.

Joe Grogan is a senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics and former director of the Domestic Policy Council in the White House. Grogan consults for the health care industry, including those working to develop treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. He wrote this column for the Chicago Tribune.

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23 Jun 2024

Cranked to 11: Saints beat Toledo 9-7 to continue winning streak

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The St. Paul Saints added to their historic run with a 9-7 win against the Toledo Mud Hens on Saturday night.

Caleb Boushley (8-1) pitched seven scoreless innings, and St. Paul’s offense kept its momentum going with a 16-hit attack. The Saints have won 11 games in a row, their longest winning streak since becoming the Minnesota Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in 2021. The streak is also the longest by any Twins’ Triple-A affiliate since at least 2005, dating to when those records could be checked, according to the team.

Yunior Severino had four hits, including his 14th home run of the season. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. had three hits, including his ninth homer, in his return to the lineup. He was activated from the injured list after last playing on May 26. Tony Kemp also had three hits, including his sixth homer.

St. Paul left little doubt in this one early, scoring two runs in each of the first three innings and in four of the first five frames.

Severino had a two-run single in the first inning. Matt Wallner added another two-run single in the second before Keirsey and Kemp each hit solo homers in the third.

In the fifth, it was a solo homer from Severino and an RBI single by Patrick Winkel. Winkel added an RBI groundout to plate Keirsey in the seventh.

Boushley cruised through his seven innings, allowing just three hits and striking out five.

Toledo scored all seven of its runs in the top of the ninth off Saints relievers Austin Brice and Nick Wittgren, including a grand slam by Andrew Navigato.

Mud Hens right-hander Matt Manning, who’s made five starts for the Detroit Tigers this season with a 4.88 ERA, allowed eight runs in four innings.

Saints second baseman Eduoard Julien had two hits and a run scored, with two strikeouts as the leadoff batter, and Brooks Lee had a hit, two walks and a run scored.