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POLLING
GLP-1: Via Gallup, VERBATIM: “The percentage of U.S. adults who currently take GLP-1 medications for weight loss purposes has risen to 11% in 2026, up significantly from 3% in 2024. And 15% report having used the medicine for weight loss at some point, an increase of nine percentage points . . . After peaking at a record high of 39.9% in 2022, the U.S. adult obesity rate has gradually dropped to 36.4% thus far in 2026, a statistically meaningful decline that continues to inversely track with increased usage of GLP-1 medicine nationally.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4w9aZu5
EBOLA: Via Independent, VERBATIM: “Three quarters of Americans support restoring US disease prevention aid to help contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, according to new polling, despite the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to foreign aid last year. The survey, conducted by Echelon Insights on behalf of The Rockefeller Foundation, found that 75 per cent of respondents backed restoring funding to tackle the outbreak.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vdOORR
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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 HEADLINES
TODAY: Via SEIU MN, VERBATIM: “Tuesday, July 7th, at 5:15 p.m., union healthcare workers, faith leaders, and community members will speak out about their shared demands for a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ahead of a forum organized regarding the proposed acquisition of North Memorial by Sanford Health. Speakers will share details of the proposed CBA, which is also being demanded of the leaders of Sutter Health, who are trying to acquire Allina Health. Speakers will speak about the agreements they want to see before any acquisition, including demands that include protections for workers and patients and continued healthcare access for Minnesota communities.”
HEALTHCARE: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “MNsure health insurance enrollment dropped by more than 17,000 in May 2026 compared to May 2025. The dip in insurance coverage offered on MNsure — the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace — mirrors a nationwide trend in 2026. The drop in coverage was expected after most Republican senators blocked Democratic efforts to extend extra federal subsidies that offset the cost of health care premiums — what people pay upfront to be insured — for millions of Americans since 2021.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3RlmM9i
MORE: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “States across the country saw steep drops in the number of people covered by the Affordable Care Act over the past year, with Ohio and Oklahoma each losing nearly one-third of enrollees, according to new federal data that provides the first complete 50-state breakdown of sharp enrollment declines following the January expiration of enhanced subsidies.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bxB5hN
HEALTH ED: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Minnesota officials hoped to phase in the state’s first-ever statewide K-12 health education standards by 2028, but that timeline is in jeopardy now after an administrative law judge objected to the state’s plan to implement the proposed standards. Dozens of educators, students and experts spent months putting together the new standards, which also include guidance on teaching CPR, nutrition, consent, media literacy and puberty as well as preventing abuse, pregnancy and suicide.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4aHm78D
E-BIKES: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Sales of electric-assisted bicycles known as e-bikes are skyrocketing. Injuries to e-bike riders are rising too . . . The dramatic rise prompted AAA Minnesota, in concert with 13 other auto club groups, to take the lead in publishing the new ‘AAA E-Ride Safety Guide: What Parents and Riders Need to Know About Electric Bikes and Scooters.’ The 16-page brochure can be downloaded for free and is the first of a three-phase campaign to address e-bike and e-scooter safety.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3R0MmQE
MORE: Via AAA, the guide. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4h0jAu0
MEDICAID: Via Stateline, VERBATIM: “State Medicaid agencies are concerned that many sick and disabled enrollees will lose their coverage because the Trump administration is narrowing the definition of who is ‘medically frail’ enough to get an exemption from new work requirements. Under the tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed a year ago, states that have expanded Medicaid to cover more adults under the Affordable Care Act — 40 states plus the District of Columbia — must mandate that those adults work, go to school or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gpSKLR
TASK FORCE: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “For the fourth time, the Trump administration has prevented an important public health panel from meeting as planned. The panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, has not met in person since March 2025. It typically meets three times a year to review scientific evidence for tests and medications to prevent conditions like cancer, diabetes and H.I.V. The panel’s recommendations guide doctors and determine what insurance companies cover for millions of Americans. But under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., it has been stymied, with little ability to make new recommendations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44cSNDp
RFK JR: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Dr. Debra Houry, the former chief medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), decried the direction of the agency under Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ‘I think the secretary has caused a lot of irreparable harm, and when you look at many of the polls out there, the trust in public health, specifically CDC, has decreased dramatically, over 20 points in many polls,’ Houry told host Margaret Brennan in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS News’s ‘Face the Nation.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eQMTxY
SMOKING: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 14-year ad campaign, called Tips From Former Smokers, was highly memorable and, research shows, highly effective in motivating people to quit. Last year, though, as tobacco companies gave millions to political organizations related to the Trump administration, the campaign went dark.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SNgtvC
AMID RURAL HEALTH CHALLENGES, ESSENTIA HEALTH INVESTS IN NEW IRON RANGE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT: Essentia Health is investing in a $13 million project to remodel and expand its emergency department in Virginia. With support from the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board and philanthropic partners, the project will improve emergency care and mental health resources through new technology, safety and security measures, and a behavioral health suite. READ MORE: Essentia expands Iron Range emergency room (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
INNOVATION & RESEARCH
MEDTECH: Via Fast Company, VERBATIM: “Whether designing a pair of robot pants or a prosthetic limb or a healthcare app, it’s important that people feel they’re getting a personalized upgrade—not just a solution. Consider prosthetic limbs. While this century has seen huge advancements in design and functionality, the not-so-distant future will deliver individualized, customized limbs that very much resemble and function like natural limbs for people, says Jeremy Brown, an associate professor at the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4p6eRt3
MEDTRONIC: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Medtronic’s latest quest for growth has focused on a key area: acquiring companies to quickly expand into new markets. To do that, it made more acquisitions in the past year than it had in the previous five, which was driven in part by trying to please some of the company’s new, aggressive shareholders. But amid the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and the separation of its diabetes business MiniMed last year through a public offering, the medtech giant has also dedicated considerable resources to investing in its own research and development (R&D). Medtronic’s focus on its cardiovascular business has shown a lot of promise, capped off by a record-setting revenue report at the end of the company’s fiscal year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fnhaV9
PULMONARY FIBROSIS: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Researchers have validated a genetic scoring tool that may help physicians diagnose idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and identify which patients are at greatest risk for severe outcomes, including death or the need for a lung transplant. The findings come from a new international study of more than 570,000 people co-led by Mayo Clinic and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aBHoAK
FAST WALKING: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “Crossword puzzles and brain teasers have long been touted as ways to keep the mind sharp. But a new study points to another strategy that may matter just as much: staying fast on your feet. Researchers have found that people in their 80s who maintain an exceptionally quick walking pace, dubbed ‘super movers,’ are also far more likely to stay mentally sharp compared to their slower-moving peers of the same age.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4aIz4yZ
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
ALZHEIMER’S: Via King’s College London, VERBATIM: “Researchers have identified a previously overlooked mechanism of brain cell death that appears to play a major role in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. The finding could lead to new treatments aimed at slowing neuron loss by interrupting the process before cells are destroyed.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vVRiFO
POLLEN: Via Northwestern University, VERBATIM: “Scientists have finally solved a nearly 30-year-old mystery surrounding two unusual molecules found in rye pollen that once showed an intriguing ability to help animals fight tumors. By determining their exact 3D structures, researchers have unlocked the blueprint needed to investigate how these natural compounds interact with the immune system and which parts may be responsible for their cancer-fighting effects.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gYwnNA
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