Now that the Presidential election is over, John McCain and Sarah Palin have headed back to their “ordinary” lives. For Sarah Palin, that means returning to her position as Governor of the state of Alaska. Although McCain & Palin may not have won the election, it seems she’s still managed to draw some valuable lessons from the campaign period. Upon her return to Alaska, she quickly managed to devise new plans for the overall health and education of Alaska residents. In the first week of December, Governor Sarah Palin publicly announced her health goals through budget requests for fiscal year 2010, the formation of a health care commission, support for legislation, and an informational campaign to help Alaskans manage their health.

The main priority of Palin’s plan was children’s health and development. In speaking of the issue, she has said, “Children are the most valuable resource in Alaska. We have to do more to support health coverage and health care, because it plays such a big role in a child’s success in school, and in life.” Her plans call for expanded coverage under Denali KidCare, the current children’s health insurance program in Alaska. Palin aims to increase the income eligibility guidelines for the program to 200 percent of Alaska’s federal poverty level. With this increase, approximately 1300 additional children would be eligible, and over 200 additional pregnant women.

Palin also called for increased state funding in three major child health care areas:

• An obesity prevention and control program, in an effort to reverse the trend of childhood obesity

• A better method of diagnosing autism, including an early screening program

• Alaska’s Head Start preschool programs – the additional funds requested would allow the program to serve 60-80 more children

Sarah Palin also wants to establish the Alaska Health Care Commission. This group would provide recommendations and support for a statewide plan to address the quality, accessibility, and availability of health care for all citizens in the state. As part of this idea, she plans to implement a statewide initiative called “Live Well Alaska.” This will be an interactive, web-based campaign to promote healthier eating, physical activity, and quitting tobacco use.

It will be interesting to see if she approaches the topic of health insurance in the coming weeks. Health care and Health Insurance were such an important focus of the Presidential campaign, and they continue to be talked about as Obama’s administration gets ready to take over. Several states have been releasing extensive plans for health care reform and innovative health insurance plans. I wouldn’t be surprised if Palin jumped on this bandwagon, especially since she’s received some flack over Alaska’s high risk insurance pool.

For more detailed information on Sarah Palin’s health plans in Alaska, visit the State of Alaska website.

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