Likely anticipating skyrocketed state liabilities, 14 out of the 28 Republican governors in the U.S. have sent letters to their respective Congressional delegations urging them to vote against the health care reform proposals of Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT).

According to an article from The Hill, the efforts of these GOP governors have been complemented by the active assistance of Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Though Barbour coordinated the letter-writing effort among the governors, it is part of a larger initiative launched by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) earlier this year to increase the outreach among state heads and congressional leaders. Sources say Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is also playing a leading role on this issue. 

Those Republican doctors who have not committed to writing critical letters are: “Charlie Crist (Fla.), Jodi Rell (Conn.), Tim Pawlenty (Minn.), Bob Riley (Ala.), Bobby Jindal (La.), John Hoeven (N.D.) and Jim Douglas (Vt.). Of these, Crist, Douglas and Rell were strong proponents of the stimulus package that was rejected by all but three Republicans in Congress.”

The main concern regarding Baucus care is the unprecedented financial burden it will place in the form of liabilities of the states:

GOP Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman told his delegation, including Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), that that “this new unfunded federal Medicaid mandate could result in the higher taxes on Nebraskans or in cutting state aid to Nebraska’s school districts as well as state appropriations to our universities, state colleges and community colleges.” 

Nelson, a centrist, has refused to commit to voting with Democrats on procedural roll calls on healthcare reform legislation. If Nelson sided with Republicans, he would significantly increase the chances of a successful GOP filibuster.

Other Republican governors, including Haley Barbour (Miss.), Mitch Daniels (Ind.) and Rick Perry (Texas), echoed Heineman in letters they have recently sent to Capitol Hill. Governors from Hawaii, Arizona, Alaska, California, Rhode Island, South Carolina and others plan to follow suit before week’s end. 

Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), was the first to pen a “letter of concern” to lawmakers from his state. And it provided a template for others to follow.

While Democrats in the Senate claim that this program will be funded by the federal government and run by the states, many Republican governors are skeptical. 

“The current proposals, both in the House and Senate, will expand the Medicaid program at additional costs paid not by the federal government, but passed down to the states,” Barbour wrote earlier this month.

Republicans are touting an editorial in Monday’s Wall Street Journal titled, “Max’s Mad Mandate.” The op-ed called Baucus’s bill “the mother — and father and crazy uncle — of unfunded mandates.”

GOP governors are not the only ones who have voiced their criticisms: 

Democratic governors have raised concerns about the House healthcare bill, but some of them backtracked this summer. The Democratic governors, including Brian Schweitzer (Mont.) and Martin O’Malley (Md.), accused staff at the National Governors Association of giving them false information after a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, according to a FoxNews.com report.