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POLLING
POLITICS: Via Fox News, VERBATIM: “A new national poll signals warning signs for both Republicans and Democrats with just over six months to go until the midterm elections. On key issues such as border security, immigration, crime and national security, a new Fox News poll — conducted April 17-20 — found that voters say Republicans have the advantage over Democrats. But Democrats hold the advantage over the GOP on the economy, inflation, and healthcare.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tBMLY8
HEALTHCARE: Via Johns Hopkins, VERBATIM: “A majority of U.S. adults agrees that health care is a right, not a privilege, and that the nation should aim to eliminate health inequities for everyone, according to a new report from the Institute for Policy Solutions at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing . . . Among the key findings of the survey:
71% consider access to health care a right, not a privilege.
70% think the nation should aim to eliminate health inequities for everyone, and 61% believe that together we can.
63% say improving the health of everyone will be very or extremely important in their midterm vote, and 59% would prioritize voting for a candidate committed to eliminating health inequities.
57% hold personal values aligned with eliminating health inequities.
The survey also uncovered specific aspects of health equity on which U.S. adults generally agree, suggesting areas in which more and faster progress is possible with evidence-based solutions.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cJaa2m
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)
MINNESOTA HEALTH HEADLINES
HOSPITALS: Via Minnesota Hospital Association, VERBATIM: “A new analysis of community impact data from more than 120 Minnesota nonprofit hospitals and health systems shows they delivered $6.5 billion in community benefit in fiscal year 2024 — a 5% increase year over year — even as hospitals face historic financial pressure and historic cuts to federal programs.” QUOTE: “Community benefit is not something nonprofit hospitals are required to do — it is why we exist,” said Dr. Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. “Long before any formal reporting requirements, Minnesota’s hospitals were caring for people, regardless of their ability to pay, as well as supporting public health and strengthening their communities.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48hs4bb
MORE: Via MHA, from the report:
You can read the full report HERE: https://fluence-media.co/41UUT9N
TEACHERS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Health insurance costs have long been a problem for smaller, rural school districts because their smaller staff sizes give them less bargaining power in the marketplace. But, in recent years, school districts of all sizes are getting hit by huge health insurance price increases . . . There’s a mix of reasons for the higher insurance costs, including inflation, an aging population with greater medical needs, and expensive new pharmaceuticals like GLP-1s. So educators are rallying around new legislation that could offer some relief.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4d2FY3y
ALLERGIES: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “The spring allergy season is upon us and there’s one pattern that is causing symptoms to persist longer and potentially be more severe. ‘Our summers are hotter and our winters are also warming. We also have more extremes,’ says Emily Onello, MD, associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth Campus. Which equates to a longer allergy season.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/48jGjwc
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
MEDMAR: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general on Thursday signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, a major policy shift long sought by advocates who said cannabis should never have been treated like heroin by the federal government. The order signed by Todd Blanche does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law. But it does change the way it’s regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I — reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse — to the less strictly regulated Schedule III. It also gives licensed medical marijuana operators a major tax break and eases some barriers to researching cannabis.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3OVLhss
RFK JR: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Over four days and nearly 20 hours of testimony, under harsh questioning from Democrats, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly backed away from his longstanding criticism of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. On Wednesday, he made his strongest statement yet — albeit on behalf of his department and not himself.” QUOTE: “We promote the M.M.R.,” Mr. Kennedy told the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday morning, referring to the combined vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. “We have advised every child to get the M.M.R. That’s what we do.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QnyTC1
MORE: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “Throughout the Finance Committee meeting, Kennedy said he had nothing to do with large ongoing measles outbreaks across the country, and implied it was rising international rates of the virus seeding outbreaks in the United States.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QjHdTl
COVID REPORT: Via The Washington Post, VERBATIM: “A report showing the efficacy of the covid-19 vaccine that was previously delayed by the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been blocked from being published in the agency’s flagship scientific journal, according to three people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The report showed that the vaccine reduced emergency department visits and hospitalizations among healthy adults by about half this past winter.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4csE2RM
988: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Over the two and a half years following the 2022 rollout of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline, the rate of suicides among young people in the United States dropped 11 percent below projections, decreasing most sharply in states with a higher volume of answered 988 calls, a new study has found. The findings, published today as a research letter in JAMA, compared suicide deaths from July 2022 to December 2024 with sophisticated mathematical projections that were based on historical trends. This yielded good news, with 4,372 fewer suicides of adolescents and young adults, ages 15 to 34, than had been projected.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48iHXy4
AIR POLLUTION: Via American Lung Association, VERBATIM: “Today, the American Lung Association released its 27th annual ‘State of the Air’ report, which finds that nearly half of the children in the U.S. are breathing unhealthy levels of air pollution. While there has been significant progress in improving air quality over the past 50 years, 152 million people still live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. Recent actions taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to roll back clean air protections will expose more people, including children, to harmful air pollution.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4twtV4x
MORE: The full report, READ: https://fluence-media.co/3OTC83D and the Minnesota report card, SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3QInA7r
PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES CONTINUE TO SOAR: While Minnesota’s safety-net hospitals navigate bleak financial outlooks, drug manufacturers continue to raise drug prices at rates that far outpace inflation, rising 23% in the last year alone. By strengthening the 340B drug pricing program, local hospitals can weather these soaring prices and continue to deliver the care and treatments that Minnesotans need. NEW: Minnesota Prescription Drug Price Transparency, Report to the Minnesota Legislature, March 2026 (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
INDUSTRY & INNOVATION
CANCER APP: Via Allina, VERBATIM: “Allina Health Cancer Institute has expanded its Cancer Connection mobile app beyond breast cancer to now include support for patients undergoing treatment for lung cancer. Cancer Connection is designed to strengthen communication between patients and their care teams, helping patients better manage symptoms, prepare for appointments and engage more confidently in their care.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dZOYYi
FINANCING: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Delivering chemotherapies is often a race against the clock. Because these are radioactive materials, they deteriorate, requiring tight coordination to get them from manufacturing sites to hospitals before they decay. Nucleus RadioPharma, a Rochester-based med tech company, is hoping to tighten that process with $50 million in financing from OrbiMed, a global New York-based health care investment firm.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48hscYd
NEW PRESIDENT: Via Allina, VERBATIM: “Allina Health is pleased to share it has named Matt Wille, FACHE, MHA, MPPA as the new president of Faribault Medical Center and Owatonna Hospital.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cHmTmm
NEXTGEN: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “From the moment David Sanborn, M.D., arrived at Mayo Clinic as a resident in 2018, he envisioned a career built around caring for the whole patient. What he did not anticipate was how fully Mayo’s education programs, mentorship culture and research capabilities would shape his training — and launch his career as a clinician‑scientist in lung transplantation. Dr. Sanborn completed all of his graduate medical training at Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education, including internal medicine residency, a chief resident year, pulmonary and critical care fellowship, and a highly specialized transplant‑focused fellowship. Along the way, Mayo’s educational flexibility allowed him to explore his interests before narrowing his focus.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42pDR3L
MEMORY: Via Northwestern University, VERBATIM: “A rare group of adults over 80, known as SuperAgers, are rewriting what we thought was possible for the aging brain. With memory abilities comparable to people decades younger, their brains either resist or withstand the damage typically linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Decades of research reveal that their social lifestyles and unique brain biology may hold the key to preserving cognitive function. Scientists believe these insights could pave the way for new strategies to delay or even prevent dementia.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mMFuC1
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
NEXT WEEKEND: Via Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, VERBATIM: “Local Twin Cities resident Lynn Anne Groebner is walking to end the rare, incurable disease she lives with every day. On May 2, Lynne will lead the CMTA Minneapolis Walk 4 CMT in Bloomington and invites the Twin Cities to join her. CMT is an inheritable, progressive neuromuscular disease that affects about 135,000 people in the United States, including an estimated 1,500 people in the Twin Cities and 2,300 across Minnesota. It causes muscle weakness, impaired balance, difficulty walking, and nerve degeneration. Many people go years before receiving an accurate diagnosis or proper medical care.”
When
Saturday, May 2, 2026
Start Time: 10:00 AM
Where
Hyland Lake Park Reserve – Sunnyside Picnic Area
10145 Bush Lake Rd.
Bloomington, MN 55438
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