FREE SCREENINGS: From UCare via Instagram, VERBATIM: “We were thrilled to partner with M Health Fairview to bring free health screenings on Saturday, July 19 to the 2025 Hmong Community Explore Your Parks event in Brooklyn Center!” PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/4mi1V0k (SPONSORED: UCare)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
POLL: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “A large majority of the public (73%) think that delays and denials of services and treatments by health insurance companies are a major problem. Majorities across demographic groups agree that denials and delays of care are a major problem, with at least two-thirds across income groups and majorities across partisanship. Six in ten (57%) Republicans, eight in ten (79%) independents, and over eight in ten (84%) Democrats consider delays and denials of services by health insurance companies to be a major problem.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3UBjtc0
RESEARCH: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Roughly 2 in 3 voters oppose cutting medical research funding, according to a new poll from Republican-aligned Public Opinion Strategies provided first to Axios.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3J7dRDO
WORKFORCE: Via Campus Safety, VERBATIM: “Nearly two in five healthcare workers in the U.S. say they have considered leaving their positions due to safety concerns, with almost half (45%) likely to leave their job in the next 12 months, according to new research conducted by Verkada in partnership with The Harris Poll . . . Nurses reported higher departure intentions (50%) compared to physicians (39%). More than half of respondents (52%) also believe that safety concerns are actively deterring people from entering the profession, the report says.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4l26j2q
POLITICAL PARTIES: Via Newsweek, VERBATIM: “A Wall Street Journal poll published on Friday shows the Democratic Party's image has deteriorated to its lowest point in over three decades according to the newspaper's records that date back to 1990 . . . The only policy areas where Democrats outperform Republicans in the poll are health care and vaccine policy, suggesting the party retains some credibility on public health issues.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3H6Ryxz
SUPCT: Via AP-NORC, VERBATIM: “The public’s confidence in the Supreme Court appears to be on the rise three years after it plummeted in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling. Sixty-seven percent of adults now say they have at least some confidence in the Supreme Court, up from 56% in an AP-NORC poll conducted just after the ruling. Still, the number of people who think the Supreme Court has too much power is also on the rise.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mbZpsw
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
TOMORROW: From This Is Medicaid via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Join us as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Medicaid -- and recommit to protecting and ensuring the crucial program for years to come! In Minnesota, Medicaid (called Medical Assistance) continues to be a lifeline for families, workers, older adults, and people with disabilities. This event is a chance to show strong public support for Medicaid and send a clear message to policymakers: protecting people’s health and access to care must remain a top priority across our state.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/46D8lTr
AIR: Via MPCA, VERBATIM: “Air Quality Alert has been issued for northern and central Minnesota. 2.) Heavy surface smoke may spread to southern Minnesota Tuesday night and Wednesday. 3.) Smoke may produce poor air quality statewide through Friday.” MAP: https://fluence-media.co/3AzzEje
AC: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “A Twin Cities hospital temporarily stopped patient admissions and ambulance transfers after its cooling system unexpectedly shut down on a sweltering Monday in Minnesota. Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park informed staff at around 2 p.m. that it was not accepting patient admissions or ambulance emergency center transfers due to the fault with the cooling system on a day that the heat index was expected to surpass 100F in the metro.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46xeRuT
HEAT: Via ABC News, VERBATIM: “Extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S., claiming roughly 2,000 people annually, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But experts note the official heat-related death toll may be undercounted due to heat sometimes not being considered as a factor in someone's death. The latest CDC statistics show that 150 heat-related deaths have already occurred in the United States in 2025, but the data is only partially tabulated due to delays in reporting.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lSmnp1
MEDICARE: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “Premiums for Medicare drug plans are set to increase sharply next year for some seniors, due to rising costs, regulatory changes and cutbacks to a subsidy program. And Medicare officials said program costs are expected to go up ‘a lot.’ The subsidy program, which sent extra federal funds to the private insurers that offer the drug benefit—known as Part D—had largely shielded seniors from rising monthly bills in 2025. It pumped an extra $6.2 billion of federal payments into the Part D plans this year, according to a Medicare official. The Trump administration is set to cut spending on that program by about 40% in 2026.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4l4xx8W
UNITEDHEALTH: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “UnitedHealth Group’s massive health insurance business will drop some Medicare Advantage health plans covering more than 600,000 people as it tries to reverse its financial declines. The company’s insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare, is the nation’s largest provider of Medicare Advantage health plans, which are a privatized version of the original government health insurance program. The Eden Prairie-based health care giant next year may also exit portions of the ‘Obamacare’ market where individuals use Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits to buy coverage.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ITir8B
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)
HOSPITALS: Via U.S. News & World Report, VERBATIM: “U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in health care rankings and ratings, today released the 2025-2026 edition of Best Hospitals, the 36th year of this annual study. The 2025-2026 edition of Best Hospitals includes the regional evaluation of hospitals at both a state and metro level. This year, U.S. News recognizes 504 Best Regional Hospitals across 49 states and 95 metro areas that have demonstrated superior outcomes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3H9owNJ LIST: https://fluence-media.co/41jx5we
MORE: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic again leads U.S. News & World Report’s ‘Best Hospitals’ rankings for 2025-2026 – the 36th time since the rankings began. This sustained distinction includes a place on the Honor Roll and more specialties ranked in the top three than any other hospital in the nation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3J6x0po
MORE: From UofM Medical School via Facebook, VERBATIM: “The M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) has been named the #1 Best Hospital in the Twin Cities metro area by U.S. News and World Report, a remarkable climb from last year! We're incredibly proud that two of our specialties at UMMC earned national rankings: Neurology/Neurosurgery at #43 and Rehabilitation at #49.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/413ClnV
CUTS: Via Roll Call, VERBATIM: “House Republican appropriators plan to disregard the White House’s proposed 40 percent cut to the National Institutes of Health budget for fiscal 2026, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. Instead, the funding levels being discussed are similar to what’s currently appropriated, they said. Republicans in the Senate are likely to follow suit, after multiple lawmakers in that chamber emphasized the importance of investing in medical research and expressed skepticism about the proposed cuts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oi53eK
MORE: Via Politico, VERBATIM: “Cuts to the National Institutes of Health’s budget would have sweeping implications for the broader economic and biomedical ecosystems, MIT and Harvard researchers argue. To reach that conclusion, published Friday in JAMA Health Forum, the researchers analyzed potential NIH budget cuts and 37 studies and reports on NIH funding, biomedical innovation and economic impacts, as well as news coverage from January to April 16, 2025, to show the cuts’ effects. They used that data to develop a causal loop diagram, which illustrates how variables in a system are interconnected, to show the effects.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45bNBQb
U OF M: Via Stat, VERBATIM: “Long before she became president of the University of Minnesota, Rebecca Cunningham trained in emergency medicine. She draws on that experience often these days. Cunningham, who is also a public health researcher, is just a year into steering a public university with five campuses and more than 70,000 students through a time of profound uncertainty. UMN has seen grants terminated, an international student arrested, and state support flatline. Amid all this turmoil, she has had to propose a budget for the 2026 fiscal year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40FOmzw
SUPERCOMPUTER: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic has collaborated with the world’s most valuable company to launch the first supercomputer in a hospital using a new AI technology that could shorten the diagnosis time and hasten treatment of deadly diseases. It’s the first time AI chipmaker Nvidia’s technology will be used this way in health care on a large scale.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40IE1D0
ESSENTIA HEALTH INVESTS IN TWIN PORTS NURSES: Total payroll for Essentia Health Duluth-Superior nurses is $164 million, with $53 million paid in salary increases over the past 3 years. Essentia Health has also increased clinical support staff by 10% over the past 3 years, providing additional support for those nurses. Over half of Duluth area nurses have been with us for over 5 years and enjoy exceptional work-life balance. To join our team at Essentia Health, search for openings HERE: https://fluence-media.co/3FzLe0i (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
STUDY: From Health Data Science via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “A global study of over 88,000 adults reveals that poor sleep habits—like going to bed inconsistently or having disrupted circadian rhythms—are tied to dramatically higher risks for dozens of diseases, including liver cirrhosis and gangrene. Contrary to common belief, sleeping more than 9 hours wasn't found to be harmful when measured objectively, exposing flaws in previous research. Scientists now say it's time to redefine ‘good sleep’ to include regularity, not just duration, as biological mechanisms like inflammation may underlie these powerful sleep-disease links.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lSzeHK
STUDY: Via AARP, VERBATIM: “Older adults who took medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes had slower rates of cognitive decline over a nine-year period than others, according to an observational study of 4,651 older adults. The median age of participants was 77.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lmaern
TARIFFS: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “The trade deal reached between the United States and the European Union on Sunday will impose a 15 percent tariff on imported medicines from Europe. Drugmakers manufacture some of their biggest and best-known blockbusters there, including Botox, the cancer medication Keytruda and popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. The tariff rate is much lower than the levies of up to 200 percent that President Trump had threatened. Still, the new import costs stand to add billions of dollars in expenses for the drug industry and could lead to price increases for some medicines.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4l1t7Q4
SCHOOLS: Via CBS News, VERBATIM: “As public school districts prepare for a new school year, there are concerns about dwindling resources stemming from federal funding cuts, with many states sounding the alarm about grants for mental health counselors and social workers . . . In April, the Trump administration, citing diversity, equity and inclusion issues, abruptly discontinued millions of dollars in mental health grants designed to help students. The Department of Education told CBS News in a statement that it found ‘grant recipients used the funding to implement race-based actions like recruiting quotas.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4facn7L
DRUGS: Via Stat, VERBATIM: “President Trump is threatening to withhold funds from supervised drug consumption sites and potentially pursue criminal penalties against them, offering his clearest stance yet against the philosophy of harm reduction and marking a significant escalation of his rhetoric on substance use and addiction. The new position, announced in a Thursday executive order, pledged to end funding for ‘programs that fail to achieve adequate outcomes, including so-called ‘harm reduction’ or ‘safe consumption’ efforts that only facilitate illegal drug use and its attendant harm.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ldkWQU
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)
UNITEDHEALTH: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “UnitedHealth Group emerged as a health care colossus over the past decade and a half, earning one of the highest stock market values in the nation. But in the last two years, it has been hit with just about every misfortune that can befall a company: A gargantuan cyberattack. Federal investigations, including a criminal inquiry into one of its most important businesses. The killing of a top executive. A public relations crisis. Disappointing profits. A plummeting stock price.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mi9lAI
PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Via Roll Call, VERBATIM: “A federal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction blocking language in the GOP budget reconciliation law that made Planned Parenthood ineligible for Medicaid reimbursements for one year. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani had granted a preliminary injunction last week blocking the provision for only some Planned Parenthood clinics. The Department of Health and Human Services appealed that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. Planned Parenthood subsequently filed an emergency request with the district court seeking clarification on which clinics would be eligible for relief. Talwani’s new order would apply to Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide. The move comes as some clinics have already announced plans to shutter or scale back services citing the budget law.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44RhYMU
VACCINES: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he is working to overhaul the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which is aimed at compensating people who have been injured by vaccines. ‘The VICP is broken, and I intend to fix it. I will not allow the VICP to continue to ignore its mandate and fail its mission of quickly and fairly compensating vaccine-injured individuals,’ Kennedy wrote in a lengthy post on social platform X.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41eFml7
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
BREAKFAST: From University of South Australia via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Eggs are finally being vindicated after decades of cholesterol-related blame. New research from the University of South Australia reveals that eggs, despite their cholesterol content, aren't the dietary villains they've long been made out to be. Instead, it's the saturated fats found in foods like bacon and sausage that actually elevate harmful LDL cholesterol levels.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4odrVfg
Copyright © 2025 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