Federal Healthcare Act Faces Opposition In Oklahoma

The Federal Healthcare act is still being met with fierce opposition in the state of Oklahoma.

Monday, Governor Fallin decided that Oklahoma will not create its own health insurance exchange.

The exchange would be online and allow people to shop for their own coverage online. Since the passage of the Federal Healthcare Act, The Obama Administration has been encouraging states to create their own health exchanges.

The Governor claims an Oklahoma health exchange would ultimately be run by the federal government and isn't worth implementing if it has to meet strict federal guidelines.

Fallin also says the federal government has provided very little guidance on the exchange.

"Even the Federal government can't answer their own questions and certainly haven't been answering state questions," says Gov. Fallin.

The Governor's office points to the Utah health exchange, which is now online but does not meet Obama Administration guidelines and will have to change.

The Governor also announced that Oklahoma will not participate in the President's plan to expand Medicaid, which could provide health insurance to those not covered with any plan.

Governor Fallin says the program isn't financially sustainable and could cost the state 450 million dollars by 2020.

Instead- the state will try to expand existing programs, like Insure Oklahoma, to help people pay their doctor bills