Louisiana is returning a federal health care grant.
The state will opt out of creating state-level insurance exchanges as part of the new federal health-care law, Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein said Wednesday.
The move comes as Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal continues to criticize Mr. Obama’s health care law. Louisiana is among more than two dozen states that have challenged the constitutionality of the new law, and Mr. Jindal has been outspoken in calling for the law’s repeal.
Mr. Greenstein said Louisiana will return a $1 million federal grant it received to help set up the exchanges, which are designed to create a regulated marketplace where individuals and small businesses can buy subsidized private coverage.
The health care reform law, which Mr. Obama signed into law one year ago, has faced criticism from a number of Republican governors and congressional Republican lawmakers.
