Oklah Gov. Fallin: We Want Out of Obamacare

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin wants out of President Barack Obama’s health care programs, even as he indicated states could have more flexibility in implementing them, the Tulsa World reported Tuesday.

“I’d like to opt out totally,’’ Fallin said to the newspaper.

Gov. Mary Fallin

Fallin said the state would still not have the flexibility it would need to establish its own health care plan. As the current law stands, states can seek a waiver to start their own plans beginning in 2017 as long as they meet certain federally required goals. On Monday, Obama said he would support a plan to move that date up to 2014.

“To me, that’s a mandate,’’ Fallin said to reporters at the National Governors Association’s annual winter meeting in Washington.

Fallin said Oklahoma is part of the states teamed up to challenge the individual mandate in the new health law in court. She said her state is on the cutting edge of health care, and it plans on staying there so that the federal government can’t come in at tell it what to do.