COMMUNITY CONNECT: From Sherburne County Area United Way via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Thank you, UCare, for your sponsorship to Community Connect 2025! Together, we’re supporting the health and well-being of our neighbors and helping families thrive.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/48zOTIa (SPONSORED: UCare)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
HOSPITALS: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Minnesota hospitals could face dire consequences due to federal health care policy changes, including losses of $1 billion annually and a potential reduction in services, officials representing hospitals said Wednesday. Mary Krinkie, vice president of government relations at Minnesota Hospital Association, told a Minnesota Senate panel focused on federal impacts on the state’s residents that 40% of hospitals had negative operating margins last year.
But more hits could be on the horizon. Hospitals are poised to lose more than $620 million a year if 140,000 Minnesotans are no longer eligible for Medicaid as is estimated in 2027 when Medicaid changes in the ‘big, beautiful bill’ take effect.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4hedsMV
Fluence Advisory is getting ready to host its next Fluence Forum – The State of Health Care. Email bolson@fluence-advisory.com for more information and sponsorship information.
POLL: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Americans who say the U.S. is less healthy under the leadership of President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now outnumber believers 2-to-1, per the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index . . . The survey finds about 1 in 5 Americans buy Trump’s recent claim about Tylenol and autism, but it also hasn’t landed with his base. About 1 in 3 Republicans say they believe there’s a connection between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism, while 44% say they aren’t sure and 21% say there’s no link. Survey respondents also expressed initial skepticism about the administration’s soon-to-be-launched TrumpRx website, with just 22% saying they’d likely buy prescription drugs that way.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4o4KUrR
MAHA: Via KFF, from a poll done in partnership with the Washington Post, VERBATIM: “About four in ten (38%) parents identify as supporters of the MAHA movement, a coalition that includes between three in ten and four in ten parents across gender, age, race, and ethnicity. Alignment with the movement among parents is highly correlated with political identification, as about six in ten Republican parents (62%), rising to eight in ten MAGA Republican parents (81%), identify with the President’s health movement, compared to about one in six (17%) Democratic parents. One third of independent parents (34%) identify with the movement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47zuYHh
SHUTDOWN: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “As the government shutdown drags on with no end in sight, a new AP-NORC poll finds that most Americans see it as a significant problem — and all of the major players are being blamed. Roughly 6 in 10 Americans say President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have ‘a great deal’ or ‘quite a bit’ of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats in Congress, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. At least three-quarters of Americans believe each deserves at least a ‘moderate’ share of blame, underscoring that no one is successfully evading responsibility.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4om3tay
MORE: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Americans are more likely to blame Republicans than Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, but a new YouGov/The Economist poll shows that gap is beginning to narrow. Only 6 points separate the parties in this week’s poll, which shows 39 percent of surveyed Americans blame President Trump and the Republicans in Congress for the shutdown, while 33 percent blame the Democrats in Congress.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42KDKQX
MORE: Via National Review, VERBATIM: “A Public Opinion Strategies poll commissioned on behalf of the Senate-GOP leadership aligned group One Nation found widespread support among likely voters for immediately reopening the federal government first before Congress negotiates a deal to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year, according to a polling memo shared with National Review.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4opRlWm
CONSEQUENCES: Via Navigator Research, from a nationwide poll conducted October 9-13, VERBATIM: “The most worrying shutdown consequences are health care costs rising and millions of Americans losing health insurance. An overwhelming bipartisan majority agrees the government should extend health care tax credits (subsidies) to make health care more affordable for millions. A clear majority (62 percent) say they would have a favorable view of how Democrats in Congress handled the shutdown if they reach a deal restoring health care. The opposite is true if Democrats reopen the government and fail to reach a deal.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48Aqhim
INSURERS: Via Healthcare Brew, VERBATIM: “As part of a Sept. 24 report, global research and advisory firm Forrester found only 54% of 12,036 insurance customers describe health insurers as trustworthy. Though several 2023 and 2024 surveys found the vast majority of consumers were satisfied with their coverage, that is the past. Forrester found waning trust may impact business. Survey results included in the report show that of 7,512 customers, those with less trust in their insurer were 10.3x more likely to switch insurers compared to high-trust customers, up from 2.4x more likely in 2024.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qg0oe5
MOMS: Via news release from Orlando Health, VERBATIM: “While delaying motherhood is a growing national trend, a new Orlando Health survey reveals a widespread public misconception. Over half of Americans (54%) believe women cannot give birth safely in their 40s.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ndLceS
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
ENROLLMENT: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “With open enrollment starting in a few weeks, officials with the state’s health insurance marketplace, MNsure, are preparing enrollees for some potentially painful changes under the federal budget bill passed earlier this year. MNsure CEO Libby Caulum tells a Minnesota Senate panel Wednesday that those on Medicaid and Medicare will be paying more out-of-pocket, others will feel the pinch due to the sunsetting of enhanced premium tax credits, and DACA recipients are no longer eligible to purchase health coverage through MNsure.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4n7Vmxy
MEDICAID: Via DHS, VERBATIM: “Medicaid providers who have not billed for services in more than a year will be disenrolled from Minnesota’s Medicaid program, as the Minnesota Department of Human Services tightens oversight. The first round of disenrollment began Oct. 15, when roughly 800 providers were disenrolled. Impacted providers were certified prior to April 1, 2024, and have not billed since that date. This round of disenrollments does not include 621 inactive housing stabilization services providers because the program is slated to end on Oct. 31.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nfmydL
MAYO: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic will go out-of-network next year for most Medicare Advantage plans from two of the nation’s largest health insurers. The changes, which UnitedHealthcare and Humana confirmed over the past week to the Minnesota Star Tribune, mean tens of thousands of beneficiaries in the state will need different insurance coverage if they want to retain access to the marquee medical center in Rochester. Neither Mayo nor the insurance companies offered explanations for the change.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4omBXd7
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)
OBESITY: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “For the first time in more than a decade, the number of states with rates of obesity of 35% or more has dropped, an encouraging sign that America’s epidemic of excess weight might be improving. But cuts to federal staff and programs that address chronic disease could endanger that progress, according to a new report released Thursday. Nineteen states had obesity rates of 35% or higher in 2024, down from 23 states the year before, according to an analysis of the latest data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4he3g77
MORE: Via Trist for America’s Health, from the report:
FULL REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/3JgVixs
ALUMINUM: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Federal health officials are examining the feasibility of taking aluminum salts out of vaccines, a prospect that vaccine experts said would wipe out about half of the nation’s supply of childhood inoculations and affect shots that protect against whooping cough, polio and deadly flu. The review at the Food and Drug Administration began after President Trump listed aluminum in vaccines as harmful during a press briefing about the unproven link between Tylenol and autism. Aluminum salts have been in vaccines since the 1920s and are added to enhance the immune-stimulating effect against the virus or bacteria covered by the inoculation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3JaYfj1
STUDY: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in the first trimester of pregnancy isn’t tied to an elevated risk of 75 major congenital malformations (MCMs) affecting 13 organ systems, supporting the safety of the vaccines in early pregnancy, French researchers write today in JAMA Network Open.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ouwIs9
SOCIAL MEDIA: Via ThreeSixty Journalism, VERBATIM: “Most teenagers have 24/7 access to a popular drug. They are high off it for hours a day and carry it in their pockets everywhere they go. The drug? Social media. From calls to getting directions, technology has been ingrained into everyday life. According to a Pew Research Center study, 95% of U.S. teens have access to a smartphone and 97% say they use social media daily. Linna Xiong, a high school senior who lives in St. Paul, says she spends three hours a day scrolling on social media.” XIONG: “We’re currently in the summer right now, so I’m very bored and I have nothing to do,” Xiong said. “I tend to be on social media a lot.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qdkLsr
CHEMTRAILS: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “While plowing a wheat field in rural Washington state in the 1990s, William Wallace spotted a gray plane overhead that he believed was releasing chemicals to make him sick. The rancher began to suspect that all white vapor trails from aircraft might be dangerous. He shared his concern with reporters, acknowledging it sounded a little like ‘The X Files,’ a science fiction television show. Academics cite Wallace’s story as one of the catalysts behind a fringe concept that has spread among adherents to the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, movement and is gaining traction at the highest levels of the federal government. Its treatment as a serious issue underscores that under President Donald Trump, unscientific ideas have unusual power to take hold and shape public health policy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hbs2Vk
DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL HEALTH CARE, ESSENTIA IS RECOGNIZED FOR PROVIDING TOP CLINICAL CARE: According to the latest report from Minnesota Community Measurement, a statewide resource on health care quality, costs and equity, Essentia ranked as a high performer with 19 of 20 clinical quality metrics scoring above statewide averages. According to Dr. Maria Beaver, chief quality and patient safety officer at Essentia: “This is a testament to the amazing care provided by all our clinical care teams and all our colleagues who support them.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dCxy1D (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
RURAL: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “When Dr. Banu Symington first moved to Rock Springs, Wyo., 30 years ago, she appreciated its empty desert landscapes and small-town respect for physicians like herself . . . Symington is among many doctors who say political attacks on science and medicine are affecting their relationships with patients, particularly in rural communities, where physician recruitment already poses a chronic challenge. Increasingly, misinformation and conspiracy theories about health fill a vacuum created by the lack of doctors, adding challenges to care. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s dramatic changes to health, science, public health and immigration policies are making recruitment of overseas talent tougher.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qfpUQw
CONVERSION THERAPY: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “The U.S. Supreme Court last week held oral arguments on Colorado’s prohibition of mental health practitioners trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of their minor patients, or what’s become known as ‘conversion therapy.’ The high court’s conservative majority appeared sympathetic to the plaintiff challenging the law’s constitutionality on 1st Amendment grounds. A decision overturning the ban, expected next summer, could have ramifications for Minnesota, which enacted a similar law in 2023 with bipartisan majorities.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46XpdE9
FRESH15: The latest season of Fresh15 includes interviews with new Minnesota House members. So far, five new members have shared their goals, background and fun facts before they take office in a historic session this January.
Rep. Kari Rehrauer
Rep. Wayne Johnson
Rep. Julie Greene
Rep. Keith Allen
Rep. Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
CUTS: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “The Trump administration has targeted a federal office that oversees a $300 million family planning program for layoffs, raising fears that it is effectively ending an initiative that provides contraception for millions of low-income women, according to three people with knowledge of the events. The decimation of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs — part of a larger effort by President Trump to fire federal employees during the government shutdown — threatens a program that has existed for over 50 years and also offers testing for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, as well as basic infertility care.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48uN2Eo
CDC: Via CBS News, VERBATIM: “Days after hundreds of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees were laid off, former CDC officials are warning it has left the agency more unprepared to keep Americans healthy and safe. While 1,300 CDC employees initially received reduction-in-force notices on Friday, about 700 were later notified their terminations were revoked, union officials said. Some of the RIF notices had been sent to CDC employees due to a coding error, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said. But, about 600 staff members remained terminated.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48AsqdU
CHINA: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “For years, Democrats and Republicans have sounded the alarm about America’s dependence on China for medicines. An analysis published on Wednesday shows just how deep that reliance is at the earliest stage of the drug manufacturing process: Nearly 700 U.S. medicines use at least one chemical solely sourced from China. As tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent years, experts fear that this reliance could leave American patients vulnerable, especially if a trade war or future pandemic prompts China to curtail exports. Supply shortages for some generic medicines have already grown common.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3J9Ubj2
MAYO: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “The American Heart Association and the Minnesota Department of Health recently recognized Mayo Clinic in Rochester as a Heart Safe business. This honor reflects the commitment of Mayo’s teams to prepare for cardiac emergencies, provide exceptional care and lead by example in the community.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/499nNYp
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
LEAD: From UC San Diego via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Long before humans built cities or wrote words, our ancestors may have faced a hidden threat that shaped who we became. Scientists studying ancient teeth found that early humans, great apes, and even Neanderthals were exposed to lead millions of years ago. This toxic metal can damage the brain, yet modern humans developed a tiny genetic change that protected our minds and allowed language and intelligence to flourish.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nZB7Dq
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