New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday became the second governor in the nation to veto legislation that is a key part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law.
The bill would have established an online marketplace for the middle-class to buy federally subsidized health plans starting in 2014, when federal reforms require most Americans to get coverage.
The Republican governor says he’s concerned the exchange would impose “unnecessary obligations” on taxpayers at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the law.
Democratic Assemblyman Herb Conaway, who is also a doctor, says the governor has put “national political pressures” ahead of the needs of the state’s 1.3 million uninsured residents and others who are underinsured.
New Mexico’s governor was the first to veto such a measure.
