Mead says feds are ducking health care questions

Mead wrote to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday stating that her department's failure to respond to a pair of earlier letters means the state will likely miss a key deadline next month.

"Both letters asked questions that I felt needed answered before we, as a state, can make the best decisions for the health care of our citizens," the Republican governor wrote. "To date, you and your office have not answered my questions by letter or otherwise."

An HHS spokesman, however, said the department has "already issued information and guidance to states regarding the law."

"We have worked with all states to give them the flexibility, resources, and time they need to implement the health care law," Fabien Levy, press secretary for HHS, said in a written statement to The Associated Press.

Levy's statement said the department will "continue to do everything possible to answer particular questions and provide technical assistance to state leaders."

The statement did not address why the agency hasn't responded to Mead's July and October requests.

Mead has been an outspoken critic of the health care overhaul and joined an unsuccessful federal lawsuit with other states challenging it as unconstitutional.

Under the law, Wyoming faces decisions on whether to accept an increase in Medicaid eligibility and whether it will commit to creating a health insurance exchange where state residents and businesses can shop online for health care plans.

Mead said that without clarification from HHS, Wyoming is unlikely to meet a Dec. 14 cutoff date to specify whether the state would operate a health insurance exchange or leave the process up to the federal government. That deadline was pushed back by a month on Thursday.