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POLLING
MAHA: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “Even for the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ advocates who helped usher President Donald Trump back to the White House for a second term, affordability will be top of mind when they vote in November’s midterm elections, a new poll found. Lowering costs is the top health priority for voters across parties who identified as MAHA supporters, with at least half saying that will have a ‘major impact’ on their decision to vote and who they will support, according to a poll from KFF, a nonpartisan health research organization.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QUZdUd
MORE: Via Scientific American, VERBATIM: “Interestingly, support for lower health care costs carried across political parties. Just more than half of MAHA voters in the poll were registered Republicans, nearly a third were Independents, and 15 percent were Democrats. But responders from all of these groups, including 57 percent of Democratic MAHA voters and 40 percent of Republican ones, listed health care as their top priority.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48MjLEw
MORE: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “The poll found 4 in 10 adults were self-described supporters of the MAHA movement, but some of the concerns elevated within the initiative have reached mainstream and resonate beyond its core supporters. Among all respondents, 75 percent said there is insufficient regulation of chemical additives in food, and 64 percent said the same about pesticides used in agriculture. They also noted a general distrust of the food, agriculture and pharmaceutical industries.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wgolEZ
MORE: Via KFF, the full poll results. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4dukcG5
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
AIR: Via MPCA, VERBATIM: “As Minnesotans statewide look forward to another summer enjoying time spent outdoors, meteorologists with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) are predicting an active air quality season with conditions similar to those seen in 2024. This year’s outlook highlights air quality concerns related to wildfire smoke and ozone, especially during periods of hot, sunny weather.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4euG6tW
MORE: Via KMSP-TV, VERBATIM: “Officials predict four to six days when ozone levels may reach unhealthy levels for sensitive groups, slightly above the state’s historical average. Ozone pollution typically forms on hot, sunny days and is most likely to affect areas including the Twin Cities suburbs and southeastern Minnesota near Rochester. The outlook is driven in part by a weather pattern influenced by a strong El Niño cycle, which is expected to bring warmer, drier conditions punctuated by periodic storms.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4neowwJ
HCMC: Via KARE-TV, VERBATIM: “New data shows just how much a financial strain uncompensated care is putting on the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). Data shows it increased from $40 million in 2020 to a projected $104 million in 2026 and is part of the reason why its leaders say it could close without new funding streams. But what exactly is uncompensated care and what’s driving it?” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4niltU8
KRATOM: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (DFL) has signed a new law increasing both the penalties and age limits for anyone wanting to buy or sell kratom. But questions remain about this supplement that can become addictive, and carry dangers as it rises in popularity around the U.S. Kratom is a supplement that is sold as an energy booster, mood lifter, pain reliever and remedy for the symptoms of quitting opioids. However, medical and addiction experts say the truth about kratom is not so simple.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4tZeHoY
WATER: Via KTTC-TV, VERBATIM: “Rochester Public Utilities is sharing a Boil Water Advisory for parts of Rochester. RPU says a water main break resulted in a loss of pressure in its water system.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tnEZzZ
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
ABORTION PILL: Via Stateline, VERBATIM: “Advocates and opponents of abortion access say they’re wondering what happens next in a critical telehealth medication case that created chaos and confusion over the past week after an appeals court blocked nationwide access to the drug and, days later, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary stay. Alito’s stay preserves telehealth access until May 11. But it’s unclear what happens next for patients and providers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ncXZQc
DRUG PRICES: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “Since his second term started, President Donald Trump has announced, negotiated, or floated a flurry of initiatives aimed at taming the excesses of the pharmaceutical industry . . . The scope of these grand gestures remains uncertain. But it’s certainly less than what the announcement promised, partly because many details of the negotiations, even which drugs are covered, are hazy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tFTL5v
ADDICTION: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “The White House’s newly released strategy for tackling the nation’s drug and addiction crisis calls for a number of ambitious public health approaches that some experts say are laudable but will be hampered by the administration’s own actions. The sweeping 195-page National Drug Control Strategy, published May 4, advocates for making access to treatment easier than getting drugs, preventing young people from developing addictions in the first place, increasing support for people in recovery, and reducing overdose deaths.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42lHojK
TEAR GAS: Via ProPublica, VERBATIM: “ProPublica identified 79 children across the country who have been harmed by tear gas or pepper spray as immigration officers dramatically stepped up their use during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly defended its use of the chemicals, asserting its agents aren’t to blame. The fault, a spokesperson said, lies with ‘agitators’ in the crowds and parents who put their children in harm’s way.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QN86zh
CRUISE: Via CNN, VERBATIM: “The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that five confirmed infections have been identified among people connected to the cruise ship MV Hondius, as health authorities across several countries race to trace and contain the outbreak. Three people – a Dutch couple and a German national – have died since the vessel departed Argentina last month.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QR9MYx
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
FOOD: Via Community Servings, VERBATIM: “The AMPL Institute at Community Servings has released its second annual publication, ‘A View of the Field: The Landscape of Medically Tailored Nutrition in 2026,’ a new national Food is Medicine report on access to medically tailored nutrition in the U.S. Recent research on medically tailored meals demonstrates reductions in acute healthcare use and healthcare costs, the nonprofit reports. The MAHA goal of reducing rates of diet-related chronic disease through healthy diet continues to present the potential for new federal policy opportunities, including the integration of medically tailored nutrition offered as a covered benefit through Medicare and Medicaid.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nolNAU
TUMORS: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic and Stanford Medicine researchers have developed the first blood test to map the complex ecosystem surrounding cancer cells, offering a more accurate way to predict which patients will benefit from immunotherapy. Their study’s findings, published in Nature, represent a major advance in precision oncology and could help guide treatment decisions across multiple cancer types and treatments.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tWBqlg
VOCXI HEALTH: Twin Cities Business reports on the latest venture from Ping Yeh and the lessons he learned from running StemoniX which he launched just ahead of the pandemic. VERBATIM: “Those lessons now inform his next act. In 2022, Yeh created Vocxi Health, an Arden Hills-based medical device company focused on commercializing a handheld breath-sensor platform that can be used anywhere to detect diseases, including early stages of lung cancer, before symptoms begin. The device is about the size of a deck of cards.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4we7IK6
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OBESITY DRUG: Via Helmholtz Munich, VERBATIM: “Researchers have created a next-generation obesity drug that works like a ‘Trojan horse,’ using GLP-1/GIP signals to slip a powerful metabolic enhancer directly into target cells. In mice, it outperformed existing treatments—curbing appetite, increasing weight loss, and improving blood sugar levels. Because the extra drug acts only where it’s needed, it can be used at much lower doses, potentially reducing side effects.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3OOKIRl
GLP-1: Via Frontiers, VERBATIM: “Some people taking Ozempic-like diabetes drugs may be getting dramatically better results for a surprising reason: why they overeat in the first place. A year-long study in Japan found that people who tend to eat because tempting food looks or smells irresistible were much more likely to lose weight and improve blood sugar levels on GLP-1 medications. But people who eat mainly in response to stress, sadness, or emotional struggles didn’t see the same long-term benefits.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ezWsl1
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