(Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said on Thursday he vetoed a bill that would have created a health insurance exchange for his state under President Barack Obama's signature healthcare program.

Christie, whose announcement came on a day when he was visiting the White House to discuss tens of billions in federal recovery aid after Superstorm Sandy, joined 18 other states in rejecting a measure to create state-based health insurance markets where consumers could purchase private, federally subsidized coverage.

Christie, a Republican who has nurtured a reputation as a cost cutter, cited uncertainty over what such an exchange would cost the state and over what kind of flexibility New Jersey will have in managing it.

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