Gov. Fallin: Oklahoma Will Not Establish State-Run Health Insurance Exchange

Gov. Mary Fallin says Oklahoma will not establish a state-run health insurance exchange under the federal health care law or expand its Medicaid eligibility to provide coverage to thousands of low-income, uninsured citizens.

Fallin made the announcement Monday. The Republican governor says the exchange was "forced on the people of Oklahoma by the Obama administration."

It's now up to the federal government to set up the insurance exchange in Oklahoma.

The issue of complying with provisions of the federal health care law has been a politically difficult one for Fallin. Last year, the governor rejected $54 million in federal funding to set up a state-run exchange after bitter opposition from grass-roots activists and conservative members of the Republican-controlled Legislature.