Missouri Governor Matt Blunt was in Joplin Jan. 26 to promote his new health care initiative before a crowd of businessmen, physicians and residents of the Ozark Center’s Cedar Hills Apartment Complex.

The governor’s visit to Joplin came two days after delivering his State of the State address. Though many items could have been discussed from the address, the main topic for the day was health care.

“Speaking with many Missourians during my time as governor, one of their chief worries is how they will afford health care, how they will afford their health insurance premiums,” Blunt said. “That’s why we’re promising improved access to affordable healthcare for each and every Missourian and a guarantee that our vulnerable will be well-served.”

The governor is proposing a new health care initiative to help meet these concerns.

“It all begins with Missouri Healthnet, a bold and innovative program that will replace the old Medicaid,” Blunt said. “As I mentioned in the State of the State address, the old Medicaid was bankrupting the state. More importantly, the old Medicaid was not meeting the needs of Missourians who used the program.”

Though the governor said Medicaid was about illness, his new program would be about wellness and prevention.

“We must increase the number of Missourians in our state who have health insurance,” Blunt said. “We need to work together to reduce the number of uninsured and expand access to quality, affordable health insurance.”

To accomplish this, Blunt has outlined six principles to help cover low-income and uninsured Missourians. They include combining public, private, federal and state resources to lower the price of insurance and to offer incentives to employers who offer health insurance for their workers.

“Participants could choose their own health care home, such as a physicians office, a group home, or a rural clinic,” Blunt said. “The health care home will provide treatment in an environment where the physician and the patient have the best information necessary to provide treatment.”

The governor also plans to use the benefits of technology to help ease the transition into the Missouri Healthnet program.