MD experiences insurance exchange woes

Maryland is among the newest states to experience troubles related to their state-run health insurance exchange, according to The Associated Press. After 14 states assured the federal government they could run insurance exchanges on the state level without the need for federal oversight, Maryland is now among three states that experienced issues resulting in the exit of federal officials.

Rebecca Pearce, the state's executive director of the healthcare exchange, resigned Dec. 6 after announcing she would depart as the program's leader in November. Pearce governed the construction of the $107 million exchange website, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Issues informing her decision to resign was the state's slow start to launch their exchange marketplace and a low number of enrollees, AP reported. 

Bob Laszewski, a healthcare industry consultant, said he was confident Maryland would be a prime example of a self-sufficient and streamlined state-run exchange due to rigorous preparation by the state, according to the AP. However, problems incurred after the website couldn't handle the number of applicants. On Nov. 30, only 3,758 applicants had fully enrolled, less than 3 percent of the 150,000 individuals the state expected to qualify by March 2014. 

"They launched and fell flat on their face," Laszewski said of the state's roll out.