Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Gov. Blunt Statement on Senate Approval of Health Care Plan for Low Income Missourians
JEFFERSON CITY– Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on the Missouri Senate's 26-7 vote passage of Mo HealthNet (Senate Bill 577), his top health care priority of the legislative session:
"I applaud Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons, Senate Majority Floor Leader Charlie Shields and senators on both sides of the aisle for passing Mo HealthNet. Mo HealthNet is not a minor reform, it is a bold and innovative new system to provide better health care for Missouri's most vulnerable citizens.
"As I said in my State of the State address, the old Medicaid was about sickness. The new Mo HealthNet will be about prevention and wellness. The old Medicaid was a 1960s paper-based system. The new Mo HealthNet embraces technology to ensure that all health care information is available to participants and providers in a secure system. Under Mo HealthNet, every participant will, for the first time, have access to primary and preventative care.
"I am also pleased the Senate has taken additional steps to help fight waste, fraud and abuse in our publicly funded health care system so that the resources dedicated to helping the vulnerable are actually used to help the vulnerable.
"Additionally, the Senate passed a measure in Mo HealthNet that would expand women's health care services to about 90,000 women. This includes a yearly women's health exam that covers services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings. This is a wonderful addition. It is consistent with my focus on prevention and it has my strong support.
"The Senate bill passed with a strong bipartisan majority. I encourage the House to take up this legislation as soon as possible so that I can sign it into law and so we can begin to provide better health care for Missouri's most vulnerable citizens."