In light of this month’s elections that increased the Republican strength in the Senate and saw them take over the House, there may be some tweaking of the health care bill.  In “Sen. Reid says willing to tweak healthcare law” from numerous  contributors on Reuters, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stresses that the tweaking will not ‘denigrate’ the health care law and that he intends to extend tax cuts to the middle class that were put in place by President George W. Bush.  He will not push to extend the tax cuts to the wealthy, however.  Due to strong opposition from Republicans, Reid and other Democrats will compare health insurance changes enacted by the reform and update the bill with Democrats and Republicans working together.

Reid stressed that they do not plan to undo the changes made that will help protect Americans from the insurance industry that he and others believe was bankrupting them.  While Republicans in the House want the entire bill to be repealed, Reid hopes that they instead will work in a partisan way to satisfy both sides.  He also stressed that he had hoped Republicans would work with the Democrats while drafting the bill instead of fighting against it.  Insurers like UPMC health insurance await the results of these talks to see what health care reform changes they will ultimately be making.

Tax cuts from President Bush will expire on January 1 of next year, so Democrats also have to figure out who will get an extension on those tax cuts.  The majority of Democrats want to extend the cuts to families with an income below $250,000 and individuals with an income below $200,000, but Republicans and a small segment of Democrats want to maintain tax cuts for everyone.  While working together seems to be the ideal solution to any problem, that is easier said than done for Democrats and Republicans.

While the health care reform bill passed by President Obama means well, the state of Massachusetts has already tried something similar without much success.  According to The Washington Post article “As Massachusetts health ‘reform’ goes, so could Obamacare,” columnist Robert J. Samuelson doesn’t believe that Obama’s plans will do much to solve the health care crisis.  By putting caps on premium increases for companies like UPMC health insurance and other small and large insurers, it could easily put them out of business or into bankruptcy.

Massachusetts started by expanding the state-subsidized insurance coverage, but failed to get health care costs under control or make sure that people’s overall health actually is improving from this policy.  Currently, the federal government plan has begun the same way.  Most individuals in Massachusetts are required to compare health insurance coverage and purchase some form.  Middle class families earning too much to qualify for Medicaid but with incomes less than three times above the poverty level receive state subsidies.  Insurance coverage has increased from 87.5% of the (non-elderly) population in 2006 to 95.2% in 2009.

It’s hard to tell whether there has been any improvement in health since many uninsured people were young and healthy.  It will likely take many years to determine that.  But emergency rooms are still full, workers are taking home less pay because of their insurance costs, and less money is being spent on schools, police, prisons, roads, and more because of the increase in health care spending.  While ideas have come about to help decrease overall health care costs and spending, such as per-patient fees combining doctors to make treatments higher quality rather than quantity, nothing has had enough of a blueprint to actually be tried.  There is a dangerous possibility that this unchecked spending on healthcare will increase taxes and budget deficits and hardly show any health gains.

UPMC health insurance plan is going to host a training event to teach community leaders from its surrounding region about the We Can! program.  The workshop will take place on April 27-28 at the Marriott City Center Hotel in Pittsburgh, according to UPMC press release “UPMC Health Plan to Host We Can! Regional Training Event.”  The We Can! program stands for ‘Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition’.  It was started by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  This nationwide movement of both families and communities to promote a healthy weight for children aged 8-13 is crucial right now.  We Can! entails reducing television, gaming, and computer time; eating healthier foods in appropriate quantities; and increasing kids’ physical activity.

The program will be run by representatives from the NIH.  They’ll teach community leaders about helping the children through their parents, teachers, and other members of the community.  Local Pittsburgh organizations that have already run successful We Can! programs will also speak at the event to help new communities start their own programs.  Compare health insurance companies’ community outreach and UPMC definitely is tops in their industry helping the community.  As a co-sponsor with Subway restaurants, UPMC hopes this We Can! training event will help combat childhood obesity in their community.  The NIH and UPMC health insurance plan hope that parks and recreation departments, schools and after-school programs, hospitals and other health care systems, churches, public health departments, and anyone else dealing with kids will come learn about the We Can! program.