All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
Want to manage your subscription to TheDailyAgenda.com? HERE: https://fluence-media.co/managesubscription
POLLING
MAHA: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “New polling conducted by the progressive political action committee 314 Action found that, despite a decent degree of support for some aspects of the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda, very few voters actually identify as being part of the movement. The polling, released Tuesday, found that while 39 percent of voters say they support many of MAHA’s goals, only 14 percent consider themselves a part of the movement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Op2ZEj
VACCINES: Via Politico, VERBATIM: “Vaccine skepticism among Americans is widespread, The POLITICO Poll found, indicating that one of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s animating priorities is gaining traction.”
“Results from the March poll of 3,851 U.S. adults conducted by Public First show that a plurality of Americans question the safety of vaccines, support reducing the number administered and believe that people’s right to decide what they put in their bodies is more important than preventing the spread of disease.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vtIjf9
ENVIRONMENT: Via Gallup, two polls related to climate change:
63% of Americans say the government isn’t doing enough to protect the environment. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4dO8sPr
44% say they worry a great deal about climate change – the highest since 1989. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3OpJBXY
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)
MN HEALTH HEADLINES
CRISIS: Via Minnesota Hospital Association, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s nonprofit hospitals and health systems are facing a financial crisis unlike anything in recent memory. Thirty-one hospitals across the state currently meet formal financial distress criteria. Some are unable to make payroll. The state’s largest safety-net hospital faces potential closure. A Level I trauma center warns it is at a ‘breaking point’. Nineteen labor and delivery programs have shut down, forcing mothers to scramble for care. And patients in Greater Minnesota are driving 40, 50, even 70 miles for basic services. The Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) is sounding the alarm: this is a systemwide crisis that demands immediate action from state and federal policymakers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mwQ4wQ
MORE: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “The reason? Too many patients on Medicare or Medicaid, and the federal government not compensating the full amount due. ‘We also have to buy very expensive drugs and the pharmaceutical companies are really making quite a profit from our hospitals,’ says Rahul Koranne President and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4teJYDZ
ICE: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “U.S. Rep. Angie Craig called on the Trump administration on Monday to release a woman in ICE detention who is suffering from a tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst at risk of rupture and needing urgent medical treatment.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3O6VrGq
WATER SAFETY: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Two years after her son Waeys Mohamed drowned, Fay Jede watches on as her younger son, Warsame learns how to flip himself over to float in water. Warsame is listening as water safety educators from FOSS Swim School give a presentation with the Waeys Water Safety Foundation. Jede started the foundation in honor of her son to provide education, support and scholarships for mothers in her community who she said are limited in access to water safety information.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4ckyVBS
MENTAL HEALTH: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Many Minnesota teens with mental health concerns can access therapy and other resources at a place that’s very familiar to them—their own schools. The school linked behavioral health program through the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) was created to bring additional mental health supports and increased services for youth.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Op1O7R
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
FDA: Via The Washington Post, VERBATIM: “The Trump administration is considering Houman Hemmati, an ophthalmologist, entrepreneur and frequent Fox News guest, to serve as the nation’s next top regulator of vaccines and treatments for complex diseases, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal conversations. If selected, Hemmati would replace Vinay Prasad, who is slated to leave the high-ranking position at the Food and Drug Administration at the end of April after a rocky year. Prasad had overseen controversial decisions about drugs and a new plan to tighten vaccine approvals, which drew condemnation from former agency leaders.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4crGO8L
PRESCRIPTIONS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Republicans in Congress are trying to attract more people to direct-to-consumer drug purchases on platforms like TrumpRx by requiring insurers to count that spending toward patients’ deductibles and out-of-pocket limits. Why it matters: Paying cash for drugs has limited appeal for insured patients, in part because it doesn’t help them get to the point where insurance picks up a bigger portion of their health costs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cIPFE6
TRIAL DATA: Via MedPage Today, VERBATIM: “The FDA said it reminded more than 2,000 pharmaceutical companies and researchers about legal requirements to publish clinical trial data, warning that a publication preference for positive trials could be skewing the available evidence on therapies.” QUOTE: “Far too often, companies are suppressing unfavorable clinical trial results and keeping them secret from patients and the scientific community,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, said in a statement. “Those sponsoring clinical trials have an ethical obligation to make results public regardless of the data’s influence on the company’s share price.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3OBQg1g
340B KEEPS RURAL HOSPITALS OPEN: With 30% of hospitals operating in the red, the 340B drug pricing program supports rural and safety-net hospitals that provide critical services to underserved communities. Thank you to the bipartisan group of Minnesota Senators who voted to support rural health care and stand up to Big Pharma. Now, we need the Minnesota House to do the same: strengthen the 340B program with real enforcement authority and ensure local hospitals can continue to deliver the care Minnesotans need. READ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/Rural_Hospitals (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
BOOK: Via Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, VERBATIM: “As a Minnesota native, Dr. Brittany Lewis admits she is deeply invested in the innovative change the Twin Cities represent and in the numerous possibilities the cities offer. However, the cities, and the state itself, struggle with performative action from activist organizations and powerful institutions. These actors don’t serve the communities they intend to help, and as Dr. Lewis explains in the introductory chapter of her book, the disconnection is harmful. Living inside this contradiction, Dr. Lewis writes about ways to address and alter the traditional research process and how to close the gap between communities and researchers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tOQ25X
HOCKEY: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Twelve University of St. Thomas engineering students spent their spring break working with the Minnesota Wild to prototype more protective hockey gear. Why it matters: These Minnesota students are helping to solve a growing problem for the NHL: blocked-shot injuries, which pose serious financial and competitive risks.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ejBMgT
HEADACHES: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Some severe headaches aren’t migraines. They may be caused by a nerve being pinched. When other treatments don’t work, surgery may offer relief. Learn more from Dr. Antonio Forte, a Mayo Clinic microvascular plastic and reconstructive surgeon with deep experience in migraine surgery.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4tHHn5a
FLUORIDE: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Tests of intelligence and brain function showed the same results whether or not people drank fluoridated water growing up, a highly anticipated, long-term study found. The new research, published Monday in the respected Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to measure community water fluoridation exposure during childhood in the U.S. and any potential impact on cognition up to age 80. The results contradict claims made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that fluoride is ‘industrial waste’ associated with IQ loss.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4szvMEs
BREAD: Via Osaka Metropolitan University, VERBATIM: “Bread and other carbohydrate staples may be doing more than just filling plates—they could be quietly reshaping metabolism. In a surprising twist, researchers found that mice strongly preferred carbs like bread, rice, and wheat, abandoning their regular diet entirely. Even without eating more calories, they gained weight and body fat, not because they overate, but because their bodies burned less energy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4szs5P0
LIST: 33 senior living communities in the Twin Cities are among 1,614 ranked “best” by U.S. News & World Report, READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tftThg LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4cJIDyZ
NEW CEO: Via St. Paul-based Accanto, VERBATIM: “Accanto Health, the parent company of The Emily Program, today announced the appointment of Jay Campbell as Chief Executive Officer. Campbell, who previously served as President, will lead company strategy and operations, with a continued focus on expanding awareness of The Emily Program, increasing access to its high-quality eating disorder care nationwide, and strengthening the systems that support clinicians and staff delivering compassionate, evidence-based eating disorder care.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Qa1FG7
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
MEDS: From the Hennepin County Sheriff via Facebook, a drug take back event in Plymouth. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4sut8Q9
MORE: Via DEA, find drug collection sites near you. SEARCH: https://fluence-media.co/4vu3Jc9
Copyright © 2026 Fluence Media, All rights reserved.
You signed up or are media / a public official interested in health care news from Fluence Media.
Our mailing address is:
Fluence Media
PO Box 270031
Minneapolis, MN 55427