GOP states offer little help on buying insurance

ATLANTA (AP) -- Republican governors who oppose President Barack Obama's insurance overhaul have been largely silent on a day when consumers are beginning to peruse newly launched federal online health exchanges.

Thirty-six states, most of them Republican-controlled, have opted to let the federal government run their exchanges.

Consumers are getting their first opportunity on Tuesday to buy individual policies on the exchanges, even as the law remains at the core of congressional budget gridlock that has caused a partial federal government shutdown. The exchanges' funding isn't affected by the shutdown.

A spokesman for Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said his boss had no plans to comment, calling it a federal issue. State workers in Oklahoma and other GOP-run states were ordered to refer all questions from residents to federal officials.