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POLLING
EXERCISE: Via University of Michigan, VERBATIM: “One in three parents say their child ages 18 to 25 is minimally active or inactive, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health . . . Parents point to several reasons their young adult children are not getting enough physical activity. The most common barriers include lack of time, lack of interest and screen time or gaming. Fewer parents cite cost, lack of a workout partner or health limitations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cnPbmV
DEPRESSION: Via Gallup, VERBATIM: “The percentage of U.S. adults who report currently having or being treated for depression was 19.1% in the first quarter of 2026, similar to the high mark of 20.0% recorded the preceding quarter and up nearly nine percentage points since the initial measurement in 2015.”
“The current rate of 19.1%, among the highest in Gallup’s trend, projects to an estimated 51 million Americans suffering from depression.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42laqQl
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)
UNITEDHEALTH
ICYMI… lunch take had the bottom-line numbers for UnitedHealth’s first quarter earnings. Catch up HERE: https://fluence-media.co/4tpgzqH
MORE: Via Forbes, VERBATIM: “UnitedHealthcare’s improving medical cost picture comes in part due to decisions by new management to exit unprofitable markets where the company has sold individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, as well as pulling out of scores of counties where the company no longer sells privatized Medicare Advantage plans. Health insurers including UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health’s Aetna, Humana and Elevance Health all have been struggling to contain medical expenses of a record number of older adults enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4toNzzf
MORE: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Since last spring, United’s sprawling expansion has largely ended, with the company now describing how it is reducing costs — exiting businesses, including some in Britain and elsewhere outside the United States; overhauling its executive ranks; and dropping plans in unprofitable markets. In announcing the company’s results for the first three months of 2026, UnitedHealth executives pointed to those efforts. ‘We are continuing to help simplify and modernize health care for the people we serve, bringing greater value, affordability, transparency and connectivity,’ [CEO Stephen Hemsley] said in a statement. One of the biggest setbacks has been the decline in what had been an extremely lucrative Medicare Advantage business.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QRxpQs
MN HEALTH HEADLINES
TOBACCO: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “The Plymouth City Council hopes a new policy could help to keep kids away from cigarettes. The council is moving ahead with a set of new tobacco restrictions, including a ban on flavored tobacco products.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ODD4Jk
POT: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Health is refining its prevention tactics as youth cannabis use in the state reaches new lows. State health officials are crediting a new model of layered outreach for a 57% drop in youth cannabis use over the last 12 years. The new data comes from a 2025 study that shows 96% of K through 12 students aren’t using it.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4coMMbF
MORE: From the MDH news release:
RELEASE: https://fluence-media.co/3Qo1fMr
MEDICAID: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s spending across 14 Medicaid programs more than doubled in the five years before the Walz administration deemed them ‘high risk’ for fraud, waste and abuse — and began taking drastic measures to rein in spending. Total spending across the programs, which include therapy for autistic children and services helping disabled people live independently, increased from $2.06 billion in 2021 to $4.32 billion in 2025, according to annual spending data from the Department of Human Services obtained through a public records request submitted in December.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4u4PM2X
RELATED: Via DHS, VERBATIM: “The head of Minnesota’s Medicaid program is cautioning that despite the federal government’s approval of the state’s corrective action plan, $3.1 billion in federal Medicaid funding is still at risk. A federal court ruling last week cleared the way for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue deferring $260 million in quarterly reimbursements for Medicaid claims the state has already paid out.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41JujR1
HOSPITALS: Via KMSP-TV, VERBATIM: “A new report from a consumer nonprofit warns that several Minnesota hospitals serving low-income and uninsured patients are facing a major threat that could force them to shut down, reduce services or eliminate positions. Seven safety-net hospitals in Minnesota are at risk of shutting down, reducing services or laying off staff. The hospitals care for a larger share of low-income patients and others without insurance. The report, released by Public Citizen, calls the situation a ‘big ugly threat.’” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/48zx37p
MORE: From the report:
REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/4co1xeL
STRIKE: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Hundreds of nursing home workers from across the Twin Cities are on strike Monday. The 300 workers with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa say they’re fighting for higher wages, better benefits and safer staffing levels, arguing that current conditions are contributing to a growing worker shortage. The level of care they’re able to provide for seniors has been impacted, they say.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4co228D
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
MAHA: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “The Make America Healthy Again movement aims to warn against the harmful effects of chemicals and toxins in our water, food and environment. But within the coalition, there’s a growing sense the Trump administration is not living up to its promises . . . Ryerson doesn’t blame Health Secretary Kennedy. She says it’s elsewhere in the administration, namely the Environmental Protection Agency, where she sees troubling decisions on pesticides and chemicals. Last month, [Kelly Ryerson] and other influential voices in the MAHA movement cataloged their concerns to the head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin. The letter states there’s a profound contradiction that as the administration claims to prioritize health, it’s approving, expanding and normalizing chemical exposures.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4u0P7iK
FED WORKERS: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “Democratic lawmakers are demanding that the Trump administration halt plans to collect sensitive medical records for millions of federal workers and retirees, as well as their family members. The Office of Personnel Management has asked 65 insurance companies to provide monthly reports with detailed medical and pharmaceutical claims data of more than 8 million people enrolled in federal health plans, KFF Health News reported earlier this month. The request, which could dramatically expand the personally identifiable medical information OPM can access, alarmed health ethicists, insurance company executives, and privacy advocates.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tpVAUN
CYBERTHREATS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “The FBI’s No. 2 official told hospital executives Tuesday they need to step up information-sharing on cyberthreats as the agency works to disrupt attacks earlier. Why it matters: Health care was the top target for ransomware and other cyberthreats last year, according to FBI statistics. Data breaches and attacks on hospitals shut down operations, delay time-sensitive treatment and risk harm to patients, and also cost health systems millions per incident.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tVPKKp
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)
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
BREAKTHROUGH: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D., a neurogeneticist whose work at Mayo Clinic led to a landmark finding in neurodegenerative disease, has been awarded the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for the discovery of the most common genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which charted the path for new mechanistic studies of these diseases.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3OTLjB1
AUTISM: Via University of Nebraska-Lincoln, VERBATIM: “A landmark study led by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and published in Molecular Psychiatry has identified a significant association between prenatal prescription of commonly utilized medications and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. Analyzing 6.14 million maternal-child health records from the Epic Cosmos database—representing nearly one-third of all U.S. births between 2014 and 2023—the team found that prescription of medications known to inhibit the cholesterol synthesis pathway were consistently associated with higher rates of ASD in offspring.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cpR7vh
ANTIBIOTICS: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “New research presented at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global 2026 conference in Munich suggests antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) are present in newborns shortly after birth. In a study involving 105 newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from July 2024 to July 2025, a team led by researchers from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece performed molecular analysis on meconium, the first stool passed by newborns.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QfmkIX
BIRTHS: Via University of Texas at San Antonio, VERBATIM: “While some say having lots of kids can make you lose your faculties, a new study suggests otherwise. Research co-led by UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio, associates a greater number of live births with a reduced risk of stroke or brain damage for mothers. As more women than men have strokes, the finding is seen as significant in helping determine risk.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4u06vUQ
CHRONIC PAIN: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “In March, NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corporation announced the completion of its limited market release of a medical device treating a rare pain disorder. Trigeminal neuralgia is an often debilitating chronic pain condition affecting approximately 150,000 patients in the United States, according to NeuroOne. Harvard Health Publishing reports the disorder newly affects four to five out of 100,000 people in the country each year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3OPZjf8
SKIN CANCER: Via NYU, VERBATIM: “A molecule that helps control gene activity has now been tied to both the growth of skin cancer and its ability to avoid the body’s immune defenses, according to new research. Scientists from NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center found that a key protein, known as the transcription factor HOXD13, plays a central role in melanoma.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vJJW8K
BACTERIA: Via John Innes Centre, VERBATIM: “Scientists have uncovered a surprising twist in how bacteria share genes—including those that spread antibiotic resistance. Tiny virus-like particles called gene transfer agents (GTAs), once ancient viral invaders, have been repurposed by bacteria into delivery systems that shuttle DNA between neighboring cells. The study reveals a key control hub of three genes, dubbed LypABC, that triggers bacterial cells to burst open and release these DNA-packed couriers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4u1d1KX
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
NEXT MONTH: Via Wayzata-based CRISP & GREEN, VERBATIM: “CRISP & GREEN, a fast-casual dining destination known for its chef-crafted, health-focused menu, is marking National Fitness Day on May 2 with a high-energy, nationwide celebration that brings communities together through movement, connection and feel-good food. Anchored by a commitment to wellness, the brand will host a series of events across four key markets, alongside a limited-time Power Hour offer at participating locations nationwide that rewards guests with a free entrée.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sLeQuI
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