JEFFERSON CITY -- Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich returned to Jefferson City Wednesday, once again to pitch his ideas for modernizing the nation's health care system.

Gingrich now heads an organization called The Center for Health Transformation. He told a group of health care industry people that society should focus on rewarding healthy behaviors rather than simply caring for people once they get sick.

"You may be pre-diabetic,” said Gingrich. “If you're pre-diabetic, and we can affect the amount you exercise and the amount you eat, we can probably avoid diabetes. If we avoid diabetes, we can save all of the cost of disease management for you lifetime.”

It's the kind of re-orientation to personal responsibility that drove lawmakers during the Blunt Administration to replace the conventional Medicaid program with MO HealthNet.

"Seatbelts, smoking, exercise, good diet...personal accountability, awareness of your health conditions," said Dr. Lan McCaslin of the Missouri Department of Social Services.     

It's the same idea Gingrich was pushing when he addressed lawmakers three years ago in the Capitol City.

"We said to people, 'you don't have to worry about the cost...your employer of the government will take care of it,” said Gingrich. “You don't have to worry about your health, the doctor will take care of it...or the pharmaceutical company will take care of it. And people... Americans ...are pretty willing to not be responsible if people tell 'em it's all right."

These days, Gingrich adds a political message. He is critical of the health care proposals offered by President Barack Obama and says conservatives should formulate a workable alternative.

"They're talking about really designing, in effect, a huge step toward a single-payer system ...temporarily disguised as a government corporation," said Gingrich.

Ginghrich also says the Obama plan, in that regard, is even more ambitious than the plan offered by the Clinton White House in the early 90's.

The day-long conference in Jefferson City focused on the state's Medicaid program, including the potential for fraud, and on health care technology.