H1N1 here?

According to multiple sources, a probable case of H1N1 has been identified in Platte County, Missouri. Platte County is immediately north of Jackson County -- which includes the Kansas City metropolitan area. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorialized this morning on the swine flu outbreak in an attempt to calm fears of widespread and deadly pandemic. However, as several of my colleagues have pointed out, using Keynes' quote, "In the long run, we're all dead" was a cute, but probably counterproductive sub headline.

Reporter roundup

Mike Sherry of the Kansas City Business Journal is sniffing around about nurse organizing in the wake of the decertification at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence. He wrote a short piece on the decertification on Monday.

AHA meeting news summary

The Hill provides coverage of the American Hospital Association meeting.

H1N1 in Illinois

The AP now reports that nine probable cases of swine flu have been logged in northern Illinois.

Uninsured admissions down?

According to an article in today's edition of The Tennessean, several health systems are reporting uninsured admissions as either stable or in decline in the first quarter.

Updated: DHSS all-hazard communication plan

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' all-hazards communication plan contains a valuable annex on public communication. Hospital public relations executives should review the DHSS document to understand the scope of the department's role in communicating in the event the current outbreak is upgraded to a pandemic.

The Missouri Department of Mental Health also has disaster communications resources available.

Nixon traveling on health care

This Friday, Gov. Jay Nixon is scheduled to visit Heartland Health in St. Joseph to discuss the Next Generation Jobs initiative and Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City to promote autism funding.

For word nerds

Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a wonderful feature article on the city's response to the 1918-1919 "Spanish Flu" pandemic.

Emancipation Proclamation

Rep. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, has apologized for linking efforts to expand government health care programs for children to slavery. After a heated committee hearing, the House ethics panel rejected a remonstrance resolution scolding Schaaf for his floor speech connecting the two issues. Schaaf's apology, delivered on the House floor, offered in expanation he had intended his words to be linked to the concept of economic slavery rather than the nation's historical connection to African slavery.

Swine flu resources

MHA has posted links to state, federal and international resources on their Web site. Updates will be sent through EMSystem as well.

Bandwidth hog

A Blog post yesterday at TechCrunch highlights the growing use of Web technologies to research and communicate information about the swine flu outbreak.

Updated: Hospitals' financial health

The American Hospital Association has released data on the health of the nations' hospitals. A news release has been sent to national health reporters; however, media coverage was minimal over the weekend.

The findings include a continuation of tight credit markets, reduced hospital capital expenditures and increasing pressure on the existing hospital workforce.

Upping the ante

Several recent articles, including today's commentary from Barb Shelly at The Kansas City Star, point to increased use of ADHD drugs by college students to improve their academic performance and cope with fast paced lifestyles. A much more in depth look at the problem is available in The New Yorker.

Microsoft on health IT spending

Peter Neupert, corporate vice-president in Microsoft's Health Solutions Group, believes the federal government's health IT spending plan has the objectives backwards. According to a commentary piece in Forbes, Neupert argues that federal spending should focus on addressing the high costs of chronic illness with IT investments targeted to support that effort.

Neupert:

"Given that 75% of health care costs stem from six chronic diseases, I'd argue that we should focus on preventing and managing these conditions, and then figure out the right technologies to support those goals. This type of focus on specific goals will enable us to deliver better care at lower costs to the whole system and get a real return on investment for health IT"

Also in Forbes, two partners at the Boston Consulting Group make the case for federal investment in health IT.

Insurers feeling recession pain

WellPoint Inc., the nation's largest health insurer, has announced a 1.3 percent drop in first quarter income and a loss of 500,000 members since December. According to reports (WSJ, subscription required), WellPoint had expected a loss in membership, but was surprised by the loss of 325,000 members due to layoffs or discontinuance of employer-sponsored plans.

UK researchers study organ donation

The timing of the request and makeup of the personnel approaching the family are important considerations in successful organ donation efforts according to researchers in the United Kingdom.

MHA's winter edition of Inside Connection contained an update on Missouri's organ and tissue donation law.

NYT - Pricing commentary

Today's edition of The New York Times has and interesting commentary on hospital pricing and billing.

Survey: 1 in 5 delay care

A new survey from Thomson Reuters finds the poor economy has led 1 in 5 Americans to delay or postpone medical care. Researchers correlate the reduction in patients seeking care with decreasing rates of employer-sponsored health insurance.

AG Koster requests billing data

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has requested billing data from several hospital systems. According to the request for information, his office is conducting a preliminary investigation into whether hospitals are engaged in pricing and billing conduct that may violate the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

Hospitals receiving a reguest should contact MHA's General Counsel, Jerry Sill.

Medicare narrows health disparities

A new report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds universal health coverage in the form of Medicare eligibility narrowed the health gaps between Americans of different races, ethnicities and education levels.

Haynes in Top 25

MHA board member and former board chair Crystal Haynes has been named one of the Top 25 Women in Health Care in 2009 by Modern Healthcare. Haynes is the chief executive officer of Saint Louis University Hospital.

Hospital advocacy update

The Missouri Hospital Association mailed 75,000 newsletters to self-identified grass roots supporters of hospitals last week. MHA also launched a revised version of the MyHealthCareMatters.org Web site in conjunction with the mailing. The new site has updated graphics and exclusive content.

Mid afternoon reflection

Stanley Fish, columnist at The New York Times, penned a wonderful reflection on the art of headline writing in Sunday's edition. Read, smile.

Stimulus program funds health internships

The Missouri Hospital Association is working with the State of Missouri to find hospitals interested in participating in a program that funds internships for young adults ages 16 to 24 with federal stimulus funds. Interested hospitals and youth participants can access the program at http://www.summerjobs.mo.gov/.

Consumer Reports critical of individual health plans

An investigation by Consumer Reports finds individually purchased health plans may not offer coverage consumers expect and may place policy holders in jeopardy of significant medical bills.

"Individual insurance has become a nightmare for consumers," Nancy Metcalf, senior program editor at Consumer Reports, said in a news release. "It's expensive and difficult to get for people who have a less-than-perfect medical history. And people who do purchase a policy often don't understand what they've bought until it's too late and they're faced with hospital bills that their plan won't pay."

Explaining health care, simply?

I found this video (developed to suit the interests of the insurance industry) and thought it was worth sharing. I'm not sure I agree with their numbers, but the presentation is compelling. I suspect we'll see a lot more of this from the insurance lobby if the health reform debate moves forward with a "public" plan.

Senate endorses coverage plan structure

The Missouri Senate has endorsed Sen. Tom Dempsey's SB 306 to create the "Show-Me Health Coverage" program. The proposal -- which is very similar to last-year's Insure Missouri plan -- would extend coverage to low income care givers through a market-base insurance model. The bill is not required to implement the coverage expansion included in the Senate's budget proposal. However, Senate Appropriations Committee chair Sen. Gary Nodler, has indicated that the fund the Senate included could be used for either Dempsey's plan or a traditional Medicaid expansion as proposed by Gov. Jay Nixon.

Bass boats and castor oil

Barbara Shelly, editorial writer for The Kansas City Star, skewers Rep. Rob Schaaf in a commentary piece in today's paper.

HFMA reports on hospital margins

The Healthcare Financial Management Association has issued a report on hospitals' financial condition in the troubled economy. According to researchers, fifty-four percent of hospitals had negative total margins during the first-quarter of fiscal year 2009, including 80 percent of hospitals with 500 or more beds. Eight in 10 hospitals report declines in non-operating revenue since the economic recession began last summer, and seven in 10 report fewer days cash on hand. Four in 10 hospitals report a decline in net patient revenue and investment losses of 25 percent or more.

According to the American Hospital Association, the report is consistent with their analysis released last month.

UPDATED: Reporter round-up

Barbara Shelly of The Kansas City Star is working on a story (actually an editorial) about the coverage initiative, with specific interest in general Medicaid expansion versus an expansion plan similar to that proposed by Sen. Dempsey.

Bob Joiner of the St. Louis Beacon wants to understand the impact of the federal stimulus package on health care... especially in St. Louis. Look for him to be calling around.

David Lieb of the Associated Press is writing on the Senate's budget proposal. Specifically he is interested in the amendment to have hospitals fund and additional $5.8 million in Medicaid to offset certain SCHIP premiums.

Coverage initiative advances

The Missouri Senate has advanced its version of the state budget, including hospital FRA and DSH funds to expand MO HealthNet coverage. The Missouri House will have the opportunity to adopt the Senate's budget (not going to happen) or meet in conference to hammer out the differences.

Last night the Senate rejected an amendment that would have called on hospitals to add an additional $5.8 million in FRA/DSH funding to reduce certain SCHIP premiums.

Opening salvo

Welcome to The buried lede.

I promise not to tell you about my dog (I don't have one) or post pictures of my children (I have six). This Blog is for you, not me.

Let's start a conversation. I'll provide the forum.

When I find news, research or editorial content about hospitals or health related subjects, I'll post them here for you. Hopefully, they will help you bring context and contrast to your hospitals' services. They might generate an idea or two. Then again, maybe not.

If I'm not giving you what you want or need, tell me. I encourage engagement. Also, humor is welcome.

Please overlook the occasional comma splice or split infinitive. It makes me human.

D.