MD offers retroactive health coverage

According to the local CBS affiliate in Baltimore, Md., individuals who were unable to access the state's online healthcare exchange will be able to sign up for coverage through one of four insurance providers until Jan. 21, 2014.

The Jan. 1 deadline was marred by technical errors on the heathcare exchange website. This caused legislators to approve the extension that will retroactively cover individuals who enroll by the new deadline. The state has also set up call centers to handle the concerns and questions of people who have not been able to get through to sign up for coverage.

The Baltimore Sun indicated Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown has bore the brunt of legislator's ire over the state's underperforming website. While the next round of open enrollment ends on March 31, government workers are tasked with removing the bugs from the online healthcare exchange so that a greater number of individuals are able to enroll.

The state worked with a third-party administrative services provider, Noridian Healthcare Solutions, to get the website up and running, but the partnership ran into financial and legal obstacles after Noridian brought in a subcontractor to complete the job.