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POLLING
THE FEDS: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “KFF’s latest April Health Tracking Poll finds that fewer than half the public express confidence in the independence of the CDC, FDA, or EPA – government agencies that hold key responsibilities over food and drug safety and public health. Overall, four in ten or fewer adults say they have ‘a lot’ or ‘some’ confidence in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (40%), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (36%), or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (36%) to act independently without interference from outside interests.”
“While Democrats are somewhat more likely than Republicans or independents to express confidence in the CDC (47% vs. 37% and 38%, respectively), four in ten or fewer across partisanship say they are confident in the FDA or EPA to act independently.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4u7dtYJ
DOCS/NURSES: Via Fierce Healthcare, VERBATIM: “Nurses feel they have more time with patients than doctors do, and are much more optimistic about their organizations’ use of AI, a new report finds. Elsevier’s Clinician of the Future report is based on a survey fielded between the end of 2025 and early 2026. The survey reached over 2,700 clinicians globally, including physicians and nurses. It found 71% of nurses globally feel they have enough time with patients, compared to 60% of doctors.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nNMi2Z
MORE: Via Elsevier, the report. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eNkaua
HPV VACCINE: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “A new study shows wide state-level variation in the uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The study, which analyzed data from the 2023 National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen), found that states in the Northeast census region had significantly higher odds of HPV vaccine uptake, while states in the South had significantly lower odds. But even within regions, there was wide variability.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uftFXY
CANADA: Via Town and Country, evidence that growing vaccine hesitancy isn’t just a U.S. thing. VERBATIM: “A new online survey suggests nearly a quarter of Canadians say they’ve declined to get a vaccine recommended by their doctor, and the data indicates most of them did so because they were concerned about potential side effects. A report from Proof Strategies released Thursday — which is World Vaccine Day — explores how Canadians feel about vaccines and why some of them hesitate to get the shots.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tEWnjY
OBSESSION: Via Daily Voice, VERBATIM: “The newly released Talker Research poll of 2,000 US adults found that 64 percent believe the country has a serious obsession problem, with people willing to fixate on almost anything. Sixty-five percent said Americans obsess over food, while 55 percent cited health and fitness.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tEX8JQ
MEDICAID: Via KFF, a survey of state Medicaid agencies about new or enhanced public health initiatives. VERBATIM: “More than three quarters of responding states reported at least one new or expanded initiative implemented in FY 2025 or planned for FY 2026 (see Appendix), with maternal and child health and behavioral health emerging as areas of focus for newly implemented or expanded Medicaid and Public Health initiatives. Initiatives frequently fell into common areas, including data sharing, rural-focused initiatives, initiatives to improve access, and workforce initiatives.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3RbeBvR
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)
HEALTH IN MN
ICYMI… morning take had comprehensive coverage of the budget deal reached between the Governor and legislative leaders that includes both short-term and ongoing funding to help save Hennepin County Medical Center. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4nraBU9
MORE ON HCMC: Via Minnesota Reformer, from a story published before last night’s deal was reached. VERBATIM: “Hennepin Healthcare and Hennepin County Medical Center — the state’s largest safety net hospital on the verge of financial collapse — served patients from all but one Minnesota county in 2025. The vast majority of patients served by Hennepin Healthcare, which operates HCMC as well as community clinics, live in Hennepin County. But many patients from other counties are transferred from outside the metro area because the hospital offers specialized services not widely available elsewhere in the state. The hospital has the state’s largest emergency department and trauma center and a vital burn unit, for example.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uiqoY2
NEW CLINIC: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “South Minneapolis is home to a new health care clinic aimed at serving low-income and underinsured patients, replacing a Family Dollar store that was heavily damaged during the protests following the murder of George Floyd. Southside East Lake Street clinic’s opening comes at a time when financial strife has put Minneapolis’ Hennepin County Medical Center at risk of closing and massive federal cuts are coming for Medicaid, leaving uncertain options for the city’s growing number of uninsured residents.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3RoOiSR
WATER: Via MDH, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Drinking Water Annual Report for 2025, released by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) today, showed that more than 99% of Minnesota’s public water systems met all federal health-based drinking water standards in 2025. Where violations occurred, consumers were notified and corrective actions were taken.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ueYOLd REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/4ueZ2C3
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)
HEALTH HEADLINES
DATA: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “Several states have joined President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts and are taking federal reporting requirements to immigration authorities a step further — by using their public health agencies as arms of enforcement. North Carolina, in late April, became the latest member of a growing group of Republican-led states to require their public health agencies to flag recipients of Medicaid to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if their legal status is in question.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4doRmG5
OVERDOSES: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “The number of people who died from drug overdoses dropped again in 2025, a promising trend as the U.S. emerges from a national fentanyl crisis that accelerated these fatalities. There were an estimated 69,973 drug-overdose deaths in 2025, a nearly 14% drop from a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4u58p78
GLP-1: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “India got it earlier this year, and Canada approved it last month. But when is the United States going to get a generic version of Ozempic? Not this decade, experts say. Thanks largely to loopholes in the U.S. patent system, Americans aren’t expected to get generic forms of semaglutide, the drug in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, until at least the end of 2031.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uQ7CqJ
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)
INNOVATION
RESEARCH: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “When Mayo Clinic researchers sequenced the genomes of 484 seemingly healthy adults, they found that about 13% carried a serious, previously unrecognized genetic risk — conditions those patients did not know about and that standard care would likely miss. Nearly all participants, 98.6%, had at least one genetic finding, and for most, the results called for monitoring. The study, published in Genetics in Medicine, also takes a closer look at what it takes to turn those findings into the proper follow-up care.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ntlm8h
RARE: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Just a year ago, Claire Stern’s life changed forever with the diagnosis of a rare genetic heart condition. Since then, the Maple Grove basketball alum turned that diagnosis into a passion by striving to fund research that could change others’ lives for the better. Stern was at home last June after finishing her first year playing a successful season of Division I basketball at North Dakota State University. She began having what she later learned were a series of heart attacks.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tFsz6P
PAUSES: Via Baycrest Corporate Centre for Geriatric Care, VERBATIM: “The little pauses, ‘ums,’ and moments when you struggle to find the right word may reveal far more about your brain than anyone realized. Researchers discovered that everyday speech patterns are closely tied to executive function — the mental system that powers memory, planning, focus, and flexible thinking. By using AI to analyze natural conversations, the team found they could predict cognitive performance with surprising accuracy, potentially opening the door to simple speech-based tools that could detect early signs of dementia long before traditional testing does.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eNKcgY
MULTIVITAMIN: Via Mass General Brigham, VERBATIM: “A daily multivitamin may help slow biological aging, according to researchers studying older adults in a large clinical trial. After two years, participants taking multivitamins showed slower aging in several DNA-based ‘epigenetic clocks,’ with the effect equal to about four months less biological aging. People who started out biologically older than their actual age appeared to benefit the most. The findings hint that a simple supplement could play a role in healthier aging.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tB2fL6
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
SOUND GARDEN: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “As [JG Everest] plans a permanent Sound Garden at Eagan’s Caponi Art Park, he’s also collaborating with the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing to explore how art and artistic activities – like meandering through trees, immersed in music – can benefit brains and bodies. For the Sound Gardens, Everest visits a nature site, typically a park, and composes music that fits with the surrounding environment. After a few weeks of visits, composing and tweaking the music, he places spatial speakers, each playing a different part of the symphony, throughout the site to create an immersive, 3D soundscape.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Rr5mrr
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