Gingersnap
04-15-2011, 09:53 AM
Oklahoma governor returns $54M health care grant
http://i52.tinypic.com/166x5b9.jpg
Oklahoma will stop 'the implementation of the president's federal health care,' Gov. Fallin says. | Reuters
By SARAH KLIFF | 4/14/11 4:27 PM EDT
Under mounting pressure from local Republican legislators, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin is turning her back on a $54 million health reform grant she once proudly supported.
It is by far the largest health reform grant that any state has rejected. Other states have returned or turned down $1 million exchange planning grants.
Oklahoma "will not accept the $54 million Early Innovator Grant" Fallin announced Thursday afternoon, noting that the move "accomplishes my goal from the very beginning: stopping the implementation of the president's federal health care exchange in Oklahoma."
HHS distributed $241 million in Early Innovator Grants in February, awarding funds to seven states that would build the technology infrastructure that other states would use as a model. Three of those states — Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Kansas — are helmed by Republican governors.
Fallin, more so than her counterparts in Wisconsin and Kansas, came under harsh criticism for accepting the funds. Oklahoma State Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman announced late last month that he would not hear a bill to authorize a health exchange, which the Oklahoma House just barely approved and Fallin had lobbied for ardently.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53216.html#ixzz1JbF0Ttno
http://i52.tinypic.com/166x5b9.jpg
Oklahoma will stop 'the implementation of the president's federal health care,' Gov. Fallin says. | Reuters
By SARAH KLIFF | 4/14/11 4:27 PM EDT
Under mounting pressure from local Republican legislators, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin is turning her back on a $54 million health reform grant she once proudly supported.
It is by far the largest health reform grant that any state has rejected. Other states have returned or turned down $1 million exchange planning grants.
Oklahoma "will not accept the $54 million Early Innovator Grant" Fallin announced Thursday afternoon, noting that the move "accomplishes my goal from the very beginning: stopping the implementation of the president's federal health care exchange in Oklahoma."
HHS distributed $241 million in Early Innovator Grants in February, awarding funds to seven states that would build the technology infrastructure that other states would use as a model. Three of those states — Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Kansas — are helmed by Republican governors.
Fallin, more so than her counterparts in Wisconsin and Kansas, came under harsh criticism for accepting the funds. Oklahoma State Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman announced late last month that he would not hear a bill to authorize a health exchange, which the Oklahoma House just barely approved and Fallin had lobbied for ardently.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53216.html#ixzz1JbF0Ttno