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Swine flu now, vaccine later

September 1, 2009 By

 It’s here. And we don’t have a vaccine for it yet. The state health department considers any flu at this time of year as swine flu. It’s too early for the regular flu.

Emerging Infections Coordinator Eddie Hedrick says the flu has been smoldering through the summer waiting for people to get back together in schools so it can spread more readily.

He says the vaccine won’t be arriving in Missouri for another six weeks or so and the first 45 million doses will be used on people with highest risk of getting infection and the highest risk of complications. That means people in schools, pregnant women, and people with underlying conditions . He says about 20-million doses will be released weekly after the first amount is released.

Hedrick says there’s no sign this stuff is getting out of hand. He’s been watching the virus in the southern hemisphere, where the flu season is ending. Based on what has happened there, he says, "We’re anticipating about double what we normally see," he says.

The standard advice is offered to keep from getting it or spreading it. Wash hands, smother sneezes…If you’re feeling badly, stay at home, drink liquids. Unless there are complications, you should be better in three or four days

Upload BP’s interview with Eddie Hedrick (7:42 mp3)

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Department of Insurance to parents: check coverage for college students

September 1, 2009 By

Sending kids off to college is a stressful time for parents, but the Missouri Department of Insurance is reminding them to check their policies.

The department says there are three categories to check off as you’re making sure your college student is covered: Health, auto and homeowner’s (or renter’s) insurance.

Spokesman Travis Ford says it’s best if parents can keep their children on their health insurance policies until they graduate. The law requires insurance companies retain dependent children until they’re 25 years old.

Ford says student health insurance programs are available through most colleges, but not always the best option. Many of them, he says, contain exemptions and won’t cover alcohol-related injuries or illnesses, something that "tends to happen" to college students.

Ford says parents need to update auto insurance policies with changes in location and driving habits; and to check with their homeowner’s insurance provider to see if the student’s possessions are covered while away at school. If not, renter’s insurance policies are typically inexpensive.

People who need help understanding their policies can contact the Missouri Department of Insurance with questions. Ford says policies can sometimes be long and confusing and the department is happy to help out. Those who believe their policy isn’t covering what it should can also contact the department’s consumer complaint division.

Call 800-726-7390 or visit www. insurance .mo.gov .

Health insurance: Most health insurance policies cover dependents who are full-time students. Generally, a student must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester. Individual policies differ, however, Missouri law mandates dependents can be covered under your health insurance policy until the age of 25, as long as they’re not married or qualify for another group employer health insurance plan. For more, call the Insurance Consumer Hotline at 800-726-7390.

Know your policy: Make sure your student has a copy of the relevant insurance cards. If you’re insured by a health maintenance organization (HMO), check to see if your student will be outside the HMO service area while away at school. If so, the student will likely have coverage for emergency care, but might have to travel to a physician or hospital within the HMO service area for routine care. Check your plan or speak with your insurer to find out.

Student health insurance plans: If your student’s healthcare coverage is limited by the network service area, another option is a student health insurance plan. These plans are sold by an insurer that has contracted with a college to offer coverage to its students. In general, these plans have more limited benefits and more exclusions. Many will also exclude routine examinations and injuries sustained while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Renter’s insurance: Many students bring thousands of dollars worth of personal items — electronics, computers, textbooks, clothes, furniture, bikes. Many homeowners policies cover students’ belongings, but only if they live on campus. Check your policy, if you’re student’s property is not covered, you might want to consider taking out renter’s insurance.

Home inventory: Making a comprehensive list of your student’s possessions — including purchase prices, model numbers and serial numbers — will help you decide how much renter’s insurance your student will need. It’s also a good idea to have a detailed inventory in case of disaster, as it will help you file an insurance claim following a catastrophe. Make sure to take photos or video of the possessions, and store the list in a secure, off-site location. Parents should also keep a copyof the list and photos.

Auto insurance: If your student is taking a car to school, check with your agent about the existing insurance policy. Ask about the rates for the college’s city and state before decideing whether to keep your student’s car on the family’s policy. Also, see if your company offers a discount to students who maintain good grades.

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Filed Under: Education

Missouri Chamber of Commerce employing social networking media to serve business

September 1, 2009 By

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce is expanding its effort to inform Missouri businesses of the important issues being debated and discussed in Washington, D.C. – issues that directly impact Chamber clients. To that end, the Chamber is embracing social networking media like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook to keep the business community aware of what our federal lawmakers are up to.

Karen Buschmann, the Chamber’s Vice President of Communications, says there is no shortage of issues that must be followed.

"There are a number of issues," said Buschmann in an interview with the Missourinet. "Nothing in memory can compare to the amount of threats that are coming out of Washington directly aimed at employers – From EFCA, Employee Free Choice Act, which seeks to undermine traditional union organization; to cap and trade legislation that could greatly increase the energy costs in the state; to health care."

The Chamber has already lobbied members of Missouri’s congressional delegation as a first step in representing the interests of business.

"We have engaged with our congressional delegation to let each and every one of them know where we stand," said Buschmann. "And we’ve encouraged our members to reach out to these folks and tell them where they stand."

While it’s important for businesses to express concerns to Members of Congress, there is not a luxury of time that allows businesses to pay full attention to daily developments in Washington. The Chamber takes on that task.

"We’re watching the things that are happening in Washington and trying to put together solutions and trying to block dangers so that our employers can spend their time running their business," Buschmann said.

Keeping track of the goings-on is one thing. Relaying what is learned to members is another. That’s where the social networking comes in.

"We have had hundreds of our member employers send letters to Congress as a result of our tools," said Buschmann. "We’ve had several thousand hits on our YouTube videos."

Those videos and other components of this outreach effort can be found on the Chamber’s website.

Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Business

State Supreme Court upholds school funding formula

September 1, 2009 By

Missouri’s school funding formula has been upheld by the State Supreme Court . In a near unanimous decision, the court turned back a legal challenge mounted by more than 200 school districts which claimed that the formula for funding local schools was inadequate and inequitable. The court, though, ruled that the legislature met its constitutional requirements in approving a new school funding formula in 2005.

Judge Mary Russell wrote the opinion. Judge Michael Wolff concurred in part and dissented in part.

The school districts formed the Committee for Educational Equality and filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City. The committee initially filed suit against the old funding formula, but amended their petition when the legislature approved a new formula in 2005. The school districts claimed the formula didn’t allocate enough money to fund public schools. A smaller group of school districts, primarily from the St. Louis County area, challenged the legislature’s use of property assessments from 2004. It argued the assessments compiled by the State Tax Commission were deeply flawed.

The districts lost before Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan who heard the case in Jefferson City. They appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in May.

Judge Russell affirmed the decision of Callahan, concluding "…this Court finds no error in the trial court’s findings upholding the constitutional validity of SB287′s school funding formula."

In her opinion, Russell found that the legislature met the school funding threshold of 25% contained in the Missouri Constitution.

"Plaintiffs additionally cannot show that the constitutional provisions they invoke restrict the legislature’s discretion in shaping the school funding formula. And, in the absence of a constitutional bar, it is clear that the legislature has plenary power to act in crafting the school funding formula," Russell wrote in the opinion.

SB 287 grew from the work of the Joint Interim Committee on Education, which reviewed the spending habits of Missouri’s most successful school districts. From that study, it based its recommendations on a per-pupil spending formula, rather than a tax-base formula as had been the case previously.

Russell dismissed an issued raised by the Coalition to Fund Excellent Schools that claimed the legislature relied on faulty tax assessments from 2004 in creating the new funding formula. The coalition, representing about 30 districts from the St. Louis area, argued that the State Tax Commission badly bungled tax assessments in 2004, providing legislators with faulty data upon which to base a school funding formula.

"Although judicial review of legislative enactments is fundamental to our system of checks and balances, hindsight evaluation of the quality of data on which the legislature relied is not appropriate in this case," wrote Russell.

It was on that point that Judge Wolff dissented. Wolff faulted the state’s present property tax structure in a separate opinion, finding that it falls short of constitutional standards. Wolff wrote that the legislature should not have relied on a property-tax-based system that has a specific constitutional problem.

State Supreme Court school funding ruling

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: , ,

Rams trade CB Hill

September 1, 2009 By

The St. Louis Rams have traded CB Tye Hill to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for an undisclosed draft choice, the team announced today.  The team also made some roster moves to get down below the NFL mandate of 75 players. 

Hill, 5-10, 187 pounds, was a first-round draft choice (15 th overall) of the Rams in the 2006 NFL Draft.  He registered 94 tackles (79 solo) and four interceptions in three seasons with St. Louis.

The team also released WR Jarrett Byers, TE Joe Klopfenstein, G Daniel Sanders and CB Marcus Brown and placed WR Brooks Foster on the reserve/injured list. NFL teams must reach a 53-player roster limit by Saturday, September 5.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,
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