Second Trump presidency raises questions for Minnesota health care

Second Trump presidency raises questions for Minnesota health care

But investors view a second Trump administration as good news for insurers who take part in Medicare Advantage, the privatized alternative to the Medicare health insurance program for seniors. The Biden administration has been changing risk adjustment payments within the program in ways that insurers regard as a price cut, which has impacted UnitedHealth Group, the largest Advantage insurer in the nation.

“The switch to Republican leadership could ease those pressures a bit, given the Republicans support these privatized plans for senior citizens,” Julie Utterback, another analyst with Morningstar, wrote Wednesday in a research report. “At the very least, we would expect regulators to stop turning the screws so hard on Medicare Advantage beyond current risk-adjustment initiatives that are projected to be completed in 2026.”

One of the key areas of concern for state public health officials is Kennedy, who on Wednesday suggested to NBC News that a new administration should wipe out entire divisions of the Food and Drug Administration, such as its nutrition department.

In a post on X last month, Kennedy warned FDA leaders to “pack your bags” because the agency has been influenced by the pharmaceutical industry in its “aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma.”

That list includes two drugs that were extensively studied by University of Minnesota researchers but ultimately determined to be ineffective as treatments for COVID-19. Kennedy also wants to halt the addition of fluoride to drinking water. Jensen said he was in dental training before medical school, and that there is solid science supporting its use to reduce tooth decay. However, he said he welcomed the conversation over its use.

The danger with Kennedy is that he misunderstands the ever-evolving nature of science and cherry-picks data and isolated reports of injuries to support anti-science views, said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy who also served in Trump’s first administration as an envoy to other nations on influenza preparedness. He likened Kennedy to someone opposed to seat belts based on one case of the restraints trapping a driver in a burning car.

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