A few months ago we told you about a new healthcare plan for low-income Missourians called MO Health Net.
It was created to replace the foundering Medicaid program.
The new MO Health Net program went into effect on Tuesday.
We have specifics on how it works in this KHQA FactFinder report.
First, participants have to choose a medical home - such as a clinic and a primary care physician.
The reason for that...if you choose your own doctor, you'll hopefully be more likely to follow through with health risk assessments and wellness planning.
Doctors and patients will work together to treat current illnesses *and* create a preventative care plan to stop disease before it happens, rather than just reacting to sickness.
Supporters of the new system say preventative care should save Missouri taxpayers money down the road.
If patients stay true to the proactive plans, they'll be eligible for MoHealthNet Plus.
It offers incentives ranging from dental care to eye care.
But we've discovered some opponents of the plan believe MO Health Net will do more harm than good.
KHQA's Melissa Shriver has both sides of this story.
The new MO Health Net plan impacts the heart of health care. Doctors and other healthcare professionals will invest much more time in their patients to work on preventative care and educating patients about their own health. It also opens up a way for many current Medicaid patients to actually see a primary care physician. Right now many cannot get in to see a doctor and are forced to use the local E.R. for common illnesses. Dr. Richard Draper is the Medical Director of the Emergency Department of Hannibal Regional Hospital. He sees first hand the importance of prevention
Dr. Richard Draper, HRH ER MEDICAL DIRECTOR: "What clogs up our emergency department are chronic, long term problems that could easily be handled in a doctor's office if they had access to that service."
Mo Health Net recipients are guaranteed access to care through what's called Federally Qualified Community Health Centers.
But patients can choose physicians in any area medical clinic which participates in the program.
But opponents of the new Healthcare program say it doesn't do enough to help the thousands of people still unable to afford any health insurance at all.
Tinker said, "well Hello Governor Blunt. The issue that healthcare and health insurance are too costly for all Missourians. We don't solve that problem by denying access to care for the most vulnerable."
But a spokeswoman with the Department of Social Services told us more uninsured and low income patients will be added to the program as it develops.
In a statement from the Governor, he said Mo Health Net stands apart from what any other state has done or is doing.
He also stresses the program puts people first by empowering them to be participants in their own healthcare.
We also talked with Missouri State Representative Rachel Bringer.
She's still concerned about MO Health Net because it doesn't re-establish services and healthcare to the seniors and children who were cut from the Medicaid Budget back in 2005.
One of the biggest changes for doctors will be a new program that gives them incentives for having healthier patients...it's called pay for performance.
It requires doctors to be held accountable for the medical outcomes of their chronically ill patients.
Pay for performance will be tracked by a state-wide computer system.
MO Health Net also requires new technology for some healthcare providers so patient's wellbeing can be tracked.
A new report shows the number of uninsured in Missouri is triple the U.S. Average.
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