Gov. Rick Perry Rejects ObamaCare In Texas, Threatens “Financial Ruin”

Texas has jumped on the bandwagon of states refusing to implement key parts of ObamaCare with former presidential hopeful Rick Perry crossing his arms and advising the government to cross Texas off their list.

In a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Texas Governor Rick Perry added the Lone Star state to the growing list of states standing in opposition to President Obama’s landmark healthcare reforms, saying that he would not be implementing certain parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, particularly the expansion of Medicaid and the state insurance exchange program, reports Newser. “I oppose both the expansion of Medicaid as provided in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the creation of a so-called ‘state’ insurance exchange, because both represent brazen intrusions into the sovereignty of our state,” Perry said.

“I stand proudly with the growing chorus of governors who reject the Obamacare power grab. …Neither a ‘state’ exchange nor the expansion of Medicaid under the Orwellian-named PPACA would result in better ‘patient protection’ or in more ‘affordable care,” Perry said, continuing, “What they would do is make Texas a mere appendage of the federal government when it comes to health care” and “threaten even Texas with financial ruin.”

Perry has been hinting at not implementing the PPACA since the Supreme Court’s ruling on it in June, calling it “a stomach punch to the American economy” in a statement on the day of the ruling, reports Politico. Though Perry says that the PPACA wouldn’t protect patients or provide affordable care, Texas has one of the largest populations of people in the country who are eligible for Medicaid expansion. Roughly 1.3 million Texans receive incomes beneath the federal poverty line, meaning they could go without coverage outside of Medicaid expansion in the state.

Rick Perry’s Texas joins several other states who are rejecting ObamaCare’s implementation. The only real question is: can they get away with it? Sound off below!