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
18-34: Via CNBC, results of a poll of Americans age 18 to 34, VERBATIM: “Just under half of those polled, 45%, said the biggest pressure point on their finances was ‘housing,’ followed by 39% who said it was ‘finding a secure and decent-paying job.’ Also ranking high on the list of pain points were ‘student loans,’ ‘credit card debt’ and ‘healthcare.’ About half, 47%, said that due to their financial situation they have put off vacations, 32% said they have stopped plans to buy a car, 30% said they put off buying a home, and 28% said they have foregone healthcare.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ilZURY
HEALTH CARE: Via Newsweek, VERBATIM: “House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has sparked debate within the Democratic Party after saying over the weekend that he does not currently support Medicare for All legislation . . . However, public polling shows that a substantial number of Americans support expanding the government’s role in health coverage. Large majorities of Americans have said in multiple recent surveys they believe the federal government should ensure access to health insurance, and support for a single-payer system remains significantly higher than it was a decade ago.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4geva2H
GAMBLING: Via UPI, VERBATIM: “The percentage of U.S. adults who say they’ve taken part in any form of gambling over the past year has dropped from 64% in 2016 to 45% in 2026, a new Gallup poll released Monday said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4zoNqPP
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 HEADLINES
MEDICAID: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “An estimated $60 billion in federal Medicaid spending in 37 states (including the District of Columbia) would likely exceed new federal limits on state directed payments for hospital services once fully implemented, a new KFF analysis finds.”
“The 2025 reconciliation law made major changes to Medicaid eligibility and financing, including new limits on how much states can direct Medicaid managed-care organizations to pay for certain services, including hospital care.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4g7RY5u
PREPAY: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “After Thomas Zordani had flown all the way from his home in Denver to Phoenix for a consultation with a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon, he was surprised when he was called into the clinic’s financial office and told he had to make a $5,000 preservice deposit, even though his insurance had out-of-network benefits . . . Zordani’s experience is becoming increasingly common. Though traditionally patients receive bills after getting treatment, hospitals and other medical providers are changing things up, sometimes requesting payment before providing care.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xIMiER
LYME DISEASE: Via Stateline, VERBATIM: “For more than three decades, researchers have been tracking ticks, mice, oak trees and other wildlife in a New York forest to better understand what makes Lyme disease more likely to spread. Their latest findings challenge some long-held assumptions — including the idea that deer are a major driver of Lyme disease risk. Researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, a nonprofit environmental research group, found that white-footed mice, not white-tailed deer, are closely linked to the number of young blacklegged ticks, the life stage most likely to infect people with Lyme disease.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bRuKy8
TEAR GAS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Lars Lidahl drove a metal soil sampling probe into the ground of a south Minneapolis garden on a hot August morning, just a couple of blocks from where Renee Good was shot and killed by a federal agent last winter. Lidahl and a group of fellow University of Minnesota students were wrapping up their field work for a unique and timely project: studying the environmental impacts of federal agents’ tear gas use during Operation Metro Surge by sampling dirt and snow from numerous locations across the city.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4zrg5DG
HEALTHCARE: Strong communities depend on sustainable nonprofit healthcare. By planning to join leading nonprofit healthcare system Sutter Health, Allina Health will be better positioned to expand access to high-quality, innovative care in Minnesota and western Wisconsin — supporting patients, caregivers, and communities for generations to come. Learn more about the Allina-Sutter partnership online. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/AllinaHealth (SPONSORED: Allina Health)
DC + HEALTH
GRANTS: Via MedPage, VERBATIM: “More than two dozen Democratic senators called on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to rescind recent grant cancellations by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). ‘We write to express our profound concern and unequivocal opposition to the recent mass cancellations of lifesaving health research grants’ from AHRQ, and the ‘year-long refusal to faithfully execute’ the fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 appropriations laws, wrote Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), along with 28 of their colleagues, in a letter to Kennedy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gFvgBO
VACCINES: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Sunday said President Trump’s executive order that seeks to alter the childhood vaccine schedule is based on ‘crazy, stupid’ claims, and that is ‘why the president’s poll numbers are going down.’ During Cassidy’s appearance on CNN’s ‘State of the Union’ Sunday, host Jake Tapper reiterated the GOP senator’s words in saying that ‘someone needs to stand up to ‘crazy, stupid things being said that undermine faith in immunization’’ before he asked if Trump is ‘saying some of these ‘crazy, stupid things?’’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4x8jUMw
EXEMPTIONS: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “The number of parents in the U.S. choosing not to vaccinate their children rose dramatically in the last school year, according to data released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All states require certain vaccines for children entering public school. During the 2025-26 school year, 4.2% of kindergartners, about 155,000 kids, had at least one vaccine exemption, up from 3.6% the previous school year. The vast majority of those exemptions were labeled as ‘non-medical,’ meaning that parents or caregivers were opting out of the shots for personal or religious, rather than health, reasons. Medical exemptions remained stable at 0.2%.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45AFA81
MEASLES: Via ProPublica, VERBATIM: “The U.S. recently reached a grim milestone: As of July 23, more measles cases have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention than in any year since 1991. It took less than seven months to blow past the three-decade high recorded last year. This potentially deadly disease is easily prevented. Shots are widely available and, in many cases, free.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hZYI71
CYCLOSPORA: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “More cases have been linked to outbreaks of cyclospora that do not have an identified source, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce, meanwhile, has expanded to two additional states. There have been nearly 14,000 cases of domestically acquired cyclospora confirmed in the U.S. since May this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. That’s well over the roughly 1,180 cases reported from May through August last year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4glqXui
ESSENTIA HEALTH SUPPORTS FREE CLINIC IN VIRGINIA, SERVING INCREASED NUMBER OF UNINSURED MINNESOTANS: Every Thursday night, physicians and care team members from Essentia Health-Virginia volunteer at the Project Care Free Clinic, providing treatment, screenings, and preventive care to patients who are uninsured or may be struggling to afford health care premiums. Essentia also provides lab and X-ray services at no cost to the clinic or its patients. Essentia is proud to support the clinic, ensuring everyone in the community can get the care they need. READ MORE: By volunteering at a free clinic, Essentia providers in Virginia ensure access to care for all | Essentia Health (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
INDUSTRY & RESEARCH
ST PAUL: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Fairview has informed employees it plans to sell its St. Paul Midway campus, the health care giant confirmed to Axios. Why it matters: Fairview’s departure — from a site it wasn’t fully using — frees 7 acres for redevelopment in a neighborhood already full of cranes and construction.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xPr1cR
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH: Via Texas-based Concentra, VERBATIM: “Concentra (NYSE: CON), the nation’s leader in occupational and workforce health services, today announced completion of its acquisition of four Minnesota Occupational Health (MOH) medical centers in the Twin Cities. The acquisition strengthens access to specialized occupational health care for Minnesota employees and connects experienced local care teams with Concentra’s national clinical and operational resources.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wyg2U8
BREAST CANCER: Via University of Oklahoma, VERBATIM: “Researchers have uncovered a surprising way triple-negative breast cancer may turn the body against itself. Tumors appear to recruit macrophages—immune cells normally involved in healing and fighting infection—and use them to release a protein called BDNF that draws nerves into the tumor. Those nerves may then help the cancer grow, resist treatment, and potentially spread.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xSU7Z0
AI: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “Patients and families are turning to AI to help pinpoint conditions. AI can be especially adept at flagging potential rare and hard-to-diagnose diseases, which may otherwise go undetected for years because doctors don’t often see them.” QUOTE: “I have been a little slack-jawed a couple of times by the difference” AI has made in helping to spot uncommon conditions, said Dr. Sarah Diekman, a doctor who specializes in a subset of nervous-system disorders like POTS. “I’ve seen patients who’ve had this for 50 years, and I was the first person to diagnose.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4g3cKDo
BRAIN HEALTH: Via University of Texas, VERBATIM: “Exercise and healthy blood sugar levels in midlife may help slow cognitive decline decades later. Physical activity appeared especially beneficial for Mexican American adults, suggesting that some brain-protective factors may differ across populations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4zrgu98
GUT HEALTH: Via University of Reading, VERBATIM: “Scientists studying three artisan British cheeses found that the microbes responsible for their distinctive flavors may also offer surprising benefits for gut health. As the cheeses matured, helpful bacteria transformed their aromas and textures while potentially producing compounds linked to reduced inflammation, cholesterol regulation, and appetite control.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SGZ87R
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
PEACE: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Robert L. Frye, M.D., professor emeritus of Cardiovascular Medicine, passed away on Aug. 4 at age 94. Dr. Frye helped shape cardiovascular medicine at Mayo Clinic and beyond through his pioneering work in coronary angiography, an X-ray procedure using contrast dye to show blood flow through the heart’s blood vessels, as well as his visionary leadership and mentorship of generations of cardiologists.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/468Use0
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