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While there's still three months left to get a bill on President Obama's desk, the Pittsburgh Business Times is already predicting that Congress "blew it" in terms of creating an affordable health insurance plan for the public.

It's true that public opinion has drastically changed regarding health care legislation. And at the same time, the seemingly endless political infighting that has made the news since legislation came to light has lead many Americans to conclude that affordable health insurance won't be coming their way any time soon.

Many lobbyists for small businesses argue that Congress overreached itself, and didn't focus enough on insurance market reforms. Instead, all of the political and public focus went to the threat of a 'public plan' and how that might impact the market.

Still, there are those who hold out hope for a decent and affordable health insurance plan to appear on Obama's desk in time.

Since everyone - regardless of what side of the political spectrum they might find themselves on - agrees that our current system is unsustainable, it's likely that some type of change will happen soon.

Just what that means for individuals, employers, and the health insurance industry remains to be seen.

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Responding to critics who claimed that his health care bill would be too expensive for low and middle income families, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said today that he would revise his health care reform bill designed to make affordable health insurance available to all Americans.

Factors to consider will be, according to Baucus, the expansion of subsidies to help purchase insurance, and a reduction in penalties for those who don't. Many of Baucus' critics felt that his affordable health insurance plan just didn't take into account how many American families are struggling to get by.

Meanwhile, a study released today at the Wall Street Journal finds that smoking bans in public places have saved Americans billions of dollars in treatments for conditions caused by second hand smoke.

Perhaps incentivizing good lifestyle decisions, like not smoking and staying within a healthy weight range, could be another way to lower costs, and keep people healthier in the long run.

And it would make affordable health insurance plans easier to find, and easier to keep, regardless of what type of income people rely on.

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The US News and World Report urged employers to "protect your workforce" with the upcoming Swine Flu season on its way.

But with small business health insurance premiums on the rise, it stands to reason that small business owners and employees could be facing a larger burden to maintain their health.

The swine flu seems to target children and young adults, though workers who have children might need to stay home to care for little ones. With fewer and fewer businesses able to afford small business health insurance for their employees, let alone family members, a dangerous or extended bout of illness could lead to medical bankruptcy.

The best ways to protect your business - and your workers - from the swine flu is to encourage vaccination, improve hygiene and access to hand washing, and keep sick employees at home. Those employers who can afford to offer small business health insurance should encourage employees to know what is and isn't covered by their plan, in case someone needs to be hospitalized.

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While President Obama's campaign was marked by his opposition to individual health insurance mandates, he might be forced to change his mind.

According to USA Today, the violent opposition faced by current health care legislation - and in particular to the notion of a government-run medical coverage plan - has put President Obama in a sticky situation. Bipartisan agreements don't appear to be on the horizon.

As a result, a new proposal being by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) involves a fine for Americans who do not buy Individual health insurance. The notion is that when everyone is forced to buy medical coverage, the risk for insurance companies is spread out: the healthy pay for some of the treatments of the unhealthy, and the result is lower prices for everyone.

But when only unhealthy people seek to purchase insurance, costs skyrocket. This is a problem since so many young and healthy people don't see the need to purchase individual health insurance.

Of course, figuring out how people will be able to afford purchasing coverage is another issue entirely, and will probably result in even more bickering in Washington.