REUNION: From UCare via Instagram, VERBATIM: “Meet the #legacy makers. Today was the first UCare alumni reunion. These fine folks, including CEO Nancy Feldman of 25 years, all left UCare a better place.” PHOTO: https://fluence-media.co/4hr3Mh9 (SPONSORED: UCare)
POLL: Via Marketplace, VERBATIM: “From a new so-called Department of Government Efficiency to an incoming Republican Congress, the federal government could see their budgets slashed in a number of areas. One place could be health care. Medicaid and Medicare are major sources of government spending. But that spending is also popular among both Republicans and Democrats, according to a new poll out this morning by health research organization KFF. Two-thirds of Republicans polled say funding for Medicaid should increase or stay the same, and their support for Medicare is higher. Meanwhile, Democratic support of funding both programs surpassed 90%.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3WrIyHM
VACCINES: From GHLF via Business Wire, VERBATIM: “The Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF), a digital patient advocacy organization focused on chronic disease management, today released the results of a recent poll examining attitudes toward vaccines among individuals living with chronic conditions . . . A particularly troubling statistic revealed that 11 percent of respondents reported that they did not plan to receive a vaccine during the 2024-2025 respiratory season. Additionally, 54 percent of those surveyed expressed concerns about accessing vaccines.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jn80YN
ACA: Via KFF, a tracking poll on how voters feel about the Affordable Care Act:
SEE: https://fluence-media.co/40sra72
MENTAL HEALTH: Via Newsweek, VERBATIM: “A nationwide online poll of 2,000 adults, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of health and wellness company Pendulum, asked participants to rate their mental health on a scale from 0 (extremely poor) to 10 (extremely good). The findings paint a sobering picture: no region of the U.S. rated its collective mental health at a perfect 10, with most scores hovering just above average. However, there were differences in the mental health of Americans in different regions. The South and Midwest rated their mental health the lowest, at 6.4/10, while, just behind, residents of the West put theirs at 6.5/10.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40Gztxa
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
FAUCI: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told The Hill on Monday that he intends to accept the pardon preemptively offered to him by President Biden. Fauci said in an email that the White House approached him about the pardon about a month ago and that he did not ask for one.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42kit0X
ORDER: Via Stat, VERBATIM: “President Trump began his second term Monday with a sweeping order aimed at reversing dozens of former President Biden’s top priorities, from regulations aimed at lowering health care costs, to coronavirus outreach, Affordable Care Act expansions, and protections against gender-based discrimination. The ‘initial rescissions’ order, signed in front of cheering crowds at the Capital One Arena, revokes dozens of Biden administration policies that the new White House called inflammatory, inflationary, and possibly illegal.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4asZXFZ
GENDER: Via Advocate, VERBATIM: “As one of his first executive orders since returning to office on Monday, President Donald Trump declared that the federal government would no longer recognize transgender people. The sweeping directive, titled ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,’ defines sex as strictly male or female based on the ‘immutable biological reality of sex’ characteristics at birth. The new Republican administration claims this move will ‘defend women’s rights’ and restore ‘trust in government itself.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PHzvPl
ABORTION: Via The Independent, VERBATIM: “One significant policy that human rights organizations are dreading the reinstatement of, is the Mexico City Policy, also known as the ‘Global Gag Rule.’ The policy, first implemented by President Regan in 1984, was created to prevent any foreign organizations that receive U.S. global health assistance from ‘providing information, referrals, or services for legal abortion or advocating for access to abortion services in their country — even with their own money’, according to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3WQK5rh
WEBSITE: Via CBS News, VERBATIM: “Government website reproductiverights.gov appeared to be offline on the evening of President Donald Trump's inauguration. The site, launched in 2022 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a public awareness campaign, contained information on access to abortion and reproductive health care and a Know-Your-Rights patient fact sheet.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4g90Rsr
WHO: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “President Trump moved quickly on Monday to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, a move that public health experts say will undermine the nation’s standing as a global health leader and make it harder to fight the next pandemic. In an executive order issued about eight hours after he took the oath of office, Mr. Trump cited a string of reasons for the withdrawal, including the W.H.O.’s ‘mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic,’ and the ‘failure to adopt urgently needed reforms.’ He said the agency demands ‘unfairly onerous payments’ from the United States, and complained that China pays less.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4auzeZG
MORE: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “Berlin will try to talk U.S. President Donald Trump out of his decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organisation, Germany's health minister said on Tuesday. The U.N. agency also said that it hoped that its top donor country would change its mind and looked forward to a constructive dialogue with Trump's team.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PJThtl
HHS: Via The Washington Post, VERBATIM: “Incoming Trump officials have tapped Dorothy Fink, an endocrinologist and career civil servant, as the interim secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Fink, who leads the health agency’s Office on Women’s Health and is a specialist in treating menopause, is in line to lead the nearly $2 trillion agency while Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for HHS secretary, undergoes Senate confirmation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40tiCfY
HOSPITALS: From Soyoung Kim via KMSP-TV, VERBATIM: “Hospitals in the Twin Cities and across the region are being stretched thin trying to keep up with the soaring number of flu patients seeking care. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) said it is the worst flu season the state has seen in years . . . So far, the weekly peak this season was 877 people hospitalized earlier this month.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4jinDRr
BIRD FLU: From Mohamed Ibrahim via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Concerns about bird flu are growing among health officials weeks after the first person in the United States died from the virus, and as cases of bird flu grow among animals and humans. Minnesota health officials are traveling across the state to provide preventative measures and vaccinate farm workers and their families against influenza in an effort to curb the spread. Minnesota has no cases of bird flu infection in humans, but does have active infections among poultry and dairy cows.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3CuKN6e
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.-Elect Kari Rehauer
Rep.-Elect Wayne Johnson
Rep. Elect Julie Greene
Rep. Elect Keith Allen
Rep. Elect Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
HEART: Via Allina, VERBATIM: “Today, Allina Health Minneapolis Heart Institute (AHMHI) expanded its treatment options for atrial fibrillation (AFib) patients by performing the first procedure in Minnesota and the upper Midwest using a new system that recently received approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) . . . Dr. Jay Sengupta, MD, senior cardiologist, AHMHI, and researcher, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF), successfully performed the first procedure early this morning at Abbott Northwestern Hospital using the Affera Mapping and Ablation System with Sphere-9 Catheter from Minnesota-based Medtronic.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42mOMMH
MEDS: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “The Biden administration, in its last full weekday in office, announced the next 15 drugs up for Medicare price negotiation. Blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic is on the list. That means the federal government and the pharmaceuticals industry are about to go head-to-head once again. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services negotiated prices for a first batch of drugs last year — something it could only do because of the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed in 2022.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42iBUY8
From morning take…
NURSING HOMES: via an SEIU press release, VERBATIM: “Nursing home workers and advocates spoke out today on the first day that all nursing home workers across Minnesota will receive time-and-a-half holiday pay on [the] MLK, Jr. holiday because of rules passed by the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board last year. … The Board [was] created by the Minnesota legislature during the 2023 session [and] is the first of its kind in the country that covers nursing home workers and has the authority to set standards like pay & benefits.”
(DISCLOSURE: The Long Term Care Imperative is a client of Fluence Advisory)
Sign up for morning take…
CONCUSSION: From Joel Streed via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Dizziness, headaches, confusion, fatigue, blurry vision and sensitivity to light are among the most common symptoms of a concussion. Once these symptoms have subsided and patients begin to resume their regular activities, they also may experience often-overlooked, underlying effects of concussion — persistent ringing in their ears, sensitivity to noise and hearing difficulties. A concussion is a mild form of traumatic brain injury caused by an impact to the head. It can change brain cells, including those associated with hearing. Some of these changes will heal, while others are permanent.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4h0RSe4
LIST: From Women We Admire via PRWeb, VERBATIM: “Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders in Healthcare for 2025. In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, these leaders are driving meaningful change through their expertise, spanning from data science to organizational leadership and beyond. They are shaping the future of healthcare by improving patient outcomes, advancing technological integration, and fostering innovative workforce strategies. Their leadership goes beyond management—they are mentors, collaborators, and catalysts for growth, ensuring that healthcare organizations are positioned to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Among this year's awardees is Teri Kaslow, Chief of Data and Analytics and Vice President of Enterprise Data and Analytics at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hl8ugc
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
OBESITY: From Karolinska Institutet via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “When children with obesity undergo weight-loss treatment, the effects have repercussions later in life and the risk of serious health problems and premature death is lower as they reach young adulthood. However, this is not the case for depression and anxiety, a study from Karolinska Institutet published in JAMA Pediatrics reports. The study shows that children and adolescents who respond well to obesity treatment are less likely to develop obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia (abnormally high levels of fat in the blood) as young adults.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PJushb
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