Rick Perry Will Not Implement Texas Insurance Exchange Under Obamacare

Rick Perry joined a growing list of Republican governors who have refused to go along with a key component of President Obama's health care law when he notified the federal government on Thursday that he will not set up a state-run health care exchange.

According to the Associated Press, the Texas governor sent a letter to Health and Human Services head Kathleen Sebelius outlining his decision.

"This is a federally-mandated exchange with rules dictated by Washington," the letter read. "It would not be fiscally responsible to put hard-working Texans on the financial hook for an unknown amount of money to operate a system under rules that have not even been written."

Perry, who waged an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has been a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act. After the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the law in June, Perry reiterated his objections to the law.

"If anyone was in doubt, we in Texas have no intention to implement so-called state exchanges or to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, I will not be party to socializing healthcare and bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution and our founding principles of limited government," Perry said in July.

Governors initially had until Friday to inform the federal government whether they intended to set up a health insurance exchange in their states or let the government take the reins. The Obama administration extended that deadline to December 14 late Thursday, after Perry had submitted his letter.