We found that incorporating data on healthcare spending per capita significantly increased our power to predict the time of reporting of 2009 A/H1N1. This suggests important strategies for future disease control. During the early stages of a pandemic, countries with moderate to high air travel from a pandemic origin, but relatively low healthcare spending, are likely to significantly under-report cases. It is therefore in the best global health interest for intergovernmental and other aid agencies to specifically target these nations for assistance to test and report cases early in a new pandemic. We propose that subsidies for outbreak response to these nations with high connectivity and low resources would be the most effective strategy to reduce the spread and impact of a pandemic.