Republican governors are balking at adopting key provisions ofPresident Barack Obama's health-care overhaul, a week after MittRomney's defeat dashed their hopes of scuttling the two-year-oldlaw.

The state leaders, at a meeting of the Republican GovernorsAssociation in Las Vegas, said they're concerned over costs andregulatory burdens the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Actmay impose. Republicans unsuccessfully challenged the law in courtand many delayed implementing it, hoping Romney — who called forthe law's repeal — would win the Nov. 6 presidential election.

“It's a bad piece of legislation,” Louisiana Governor BobbyJindal said at a news conference in Las Vegas yesterday. “It'sgoing to have a lot of unintended consequences.”

Democrat Obama's re-election lifted uncertainty over the law,which will extend health-care coverage to as many as 30 millionuninsured when its major provisions take effect in 2014. States arenow facing decisions about how to move forward with the mostsweeping changes to the nation's health-care system since 1965.

States must decide whether to create exchanges in whichconsumers can buy subsidized insurance policies beginning in 2014,or have the federal government do it for them. They also need todetermine whether to expand Medicaid, the federal-state health-careprogram for the poor, to about 17 million more people, after theSupreme Court ruled that they can't be forced to do so.

States face a deadline tomorrow to tell the federal governmentwhether they are planning to create their own exchanges. Yesterday,the Republican Governors Association sent a letter to the Obamaadministration, asking for more time.

Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell said the federal governmenthasn't provided enough information, and that he's hesitant toexpand Medicaid unless the states are given more power to run theprogram.

“There are too many unanswered questions to make the decisions,”he said at a news conference.

Only 13 states, none led by Republicans, committed before theelection to build their own exchanges.

Maine Governor Paul LePage said he has no plans to set up astate exchange where residents who don't receive health insurancethrough their employer can shop for subsidized plans. He plans tocede that power to the federal government.

“I'm not lifting a finger,” he said in an interview. “We're notgoing to get involved. We're going to let Mr. Obama do a federalexchange. It's his bill.”

Court Ruling

The president's health-care law has long drawn resistance fromRepublicans, who view it as a costly expansion of the federalgovernment and sued to overturn it. The Supreme Court in Julyupheld the law. In the election, Obama won in states includingFlorida, Ohio and Wisconsin, whose Republican governors had opposedthe law.

The Supreme Court's ruling gave states the power to decidewhether to expand Medicaid, which now typically covers low- incomeparents and the elderly, to everyone with incomes up to 133 percentof the poverty line. The federal government will pay all of thecost for the first three years, with the states' share eventuallyrising to 10 percent.

“I don't see how we can afford it,” Georgia Governor Nathan Dealsaid in an interview.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said the law is unpopular in hisstate, even though Obama won there. He said he's leaning againstexpanding Medicaid.

“We don't want to get trapped in something we can't afford andcan't be sustained,” Branstad said in an interview.

At least five Republican governors — from Texas, South Carolina,Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi — said after the Supreme Courtruling that they opposed expanding Medicaid, while others said theywere waiting until after the election. Yesterday, Florida GovernorRick Scott told the Associated Press that he wants to negotiatewith the Obama administration over the law.

Republicans opposed to accepting additional federal money forMedicaid have said it could hit them with billions in added coststo cover their share, and expressed concern that Congress couldshift more of the expense to the states as it deals with federalbudget shortfalls.

At the meeting in Las Vegas, other governors, includingArizona's Jan Brewer and Oklahoma's Mary Fallin, said in interviewsthat they're still weighing their options on Medicaidexpansion.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said he'll announce his plansfor the health-care law by tomorrow's deadline.

“It's the law and we'll comply with the law,” Walker toldreporters. “The question is which way do we go about doingthat.”

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