Better health-care stands as a national imperative, Kathleen Sebelius believes, with American citizens, and America’s investment in them, at stake.

And the point person for the federal health-care reform effort said the measure approved last year makes the appropriate investment.

“It’s not only good for the patient, but it’s good for this country,” Ms. Sebelius told a St. Joseph gathering Friday. “Right now, we spend more than any nation on Earth on health care, and our health results don’t look nearly as good as they should.”

The U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services spent an hour at Heartland Health learning about innovations and prevention techniques local medical professionals believe can be a model for the nation.

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill encouraged Ms. Sebelius to visit the St. Joseph hospital and accompanied her on the snowy morning.

Both women praised the providers for their community-centered initiatives and for trying to stop health problems before they arrive at the hospital’s door.

The Heartland approach, they said, dovetails with the aims of the Affordable Care Act, with emphasis on prevention’s ounce rather than the pound of cure.

“Doctors basically want to keep people healthy,” the cabinet secretary said. “They don’t just want to deal with people when they’re acutely ill.”

Ms. McCaskill added, “Once we get everyone in and there is more prevention going on, we can only hope that we don’t have to spend quite so much on health care in this country.”

Ms. Sebelius and the senator repeated their support for the health bill, pointing to its provisions that young adults can stay longer on their parents’ health plans and that people can no longer be shut out of coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

But both acknowledged, in the medical roundtable and afterward talking with reporters, the political fury that accompanies the legislation.

Some states, including Missouri, have sued the federal government over the measure but continue to take grant money in preparation for the law taking effect.

“We are continuing to implement the law, and this is a very state-based strategy,” Ms. Sebelius said. “We think the best opportunities are for people on the ground at the state level that regulate the insurance markets and know the health-care system to put together what works for their population.”

Ms. McCaskill, who voted for the bill when it cleared the Senate, said that the law suffers from “semi-truck loads of misinformation” nearly a year after its passage.

Dr. Joe Boyce, Heartland’s chief medical information officer, suggested to the guests an improvement in the tracking of medical records.

“We’ve got 50 different states doing immunizations with 50 different registries,” he said. “That’s where we need a national standard.”

Ms. McCaskill cautioned that phrases like “national standard” can get played for political purposes.

“The political arguments get really over the top,” the senator said. “All of a sudden, it’s ‘I told you, the federal government’s taking over all of it.’”

Still, she voiced optimism that the strengths of the health law would help Americans and the federal budget.

“The cost that we’re going to save on preventative care wasn’t even figured in the calculation (of the law’s financial impact),” Ms. McCaskill said. “Heartland is really a great location to bust up the myths that are out there about the health-care bill.”

Ken Newton can be reached at ken.newton@newspressnow.com.