Md.’s Troubled Health Exchange Prompts Groups To Warn Uninsured About Jan. Coverage

Problems with Maryland’s online insurance exchange, including with paper applications that were supposed to provide a fail-safe backup plan, are so severe that community groups have begun warning uninsured clients that they may not obtain coverage as intended by Jan. 1.

State officials began this week to contact all people whose applications are still pending, urging them to contact the state call center, try the state Web site again or get in touch with a certified insurance broker for help.

At a news conference Thursday, Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) acknowledged the exchange’s “rocky launch” for the second time in recent weeks. But he said the state is on track to meet a goal he set two weeks ago to fix most of the Web site’s technological problems by mid-December. Of nine major issues identified, three remain to be addressed, he said, two of which involve computer screens freezing during the application process.
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