Public health staff told the meeting they attended a governor-hosted roundtable on extending Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and rural health access, and warned some older residents could face large premium increases under certain coverage scenarios.

On immunizations, the public health presenter said October was a busy month: a Lake Superior Elementary School pilot offered intranasal flu vaccine, 321 students participated in school-related immunization activities, and the county administered 436 immunizations in October across clinics at senior centers, libraries, apartment complexes and community sites; staff said they briefly borrowed vaccine from neighboring counties to meet demand.

The county has been approved for the naloxone direct program; the next allocation will provide 42 cases (reported as 504 boxes). Staff said four public-health naloxone vending machines remain in operation and are stocked via grant funding; year-over-year distribution has grown from 99 boxes in 2023 to 735 boxes in 2024, and the presenter said current distribution is "closer to 670 boxes" so the county is on track to match last year's total.

Environmental health staff flagged a change in lodging codes (stated in meeting as "ATCP 7 b 2" under the DACAP program) that will take effect January 25; the presenter said licensing classifications and fees for tourist rooming houses, hotels and motels changed and the county will be required to reimburse a portion of those fees to the state with the county's share increasing annually until it reaches 15% (stated timeline to 2028 in the packet); staff said they will present a proposed fee schedule at the next board meeting to align local fees with the new state schedule.

On grants, staff reported a late award extending a recovery-housing grant into a second year to expand jail outreach, peer support and contingency-management incentives (an evidence-based rewards program for maintaining abstinence). The wellness-to-recovery court (formerly adult drug court) moved under health-and-human-services oversight and will be coordinated by county staff. Staff said a third year of a five-year SAMHSA grant was awarded and funding is currently in place, but they expressed concern after the federal project officer was fired and said the staffing change introduces uncertainty around long-term federal oversight and continuity even though current-year funding remains available.