Texas Governor Rick Perry has informed federal officials that his state is not interested in operating a temporary high-risk insurance pool.
In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Perry said that Texas would not submit a plan, citing “a lack of program rules or reliable federal funding.”
Sebelius had requested that states submit their plans for the pools, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), by April 30.
Congress has committed $5 billion for the operation of the pools, designed to offer coverage to uninsured persons with pre-existing health conditions, over the next four years. Perry wrote that the funding wasn’t enough, adding that states could be stuck with the full cost if federal funding isn’t continued.
The federal government will operate the high-risk pools in states that refuse to do so.
Perry has been a vocal critic of the PPACA and other federal programs that require participation by states. Texas, along with more than a dozen other states, is challenging the health reform law in federal court.
Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured residents among the states, with 26% - nearly 6 million – of the population lacking health coverage.