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O'Malley Proposes Small Legislative Fix For Health Insurance Reform

Governor Martin O’Malley is seeking a small but quick legislative fix for frustrated users of Maryland’s troubled health insurance website. The proposal, announced today at a press conference in Annapolis, will be offered when the General Assembly reconvenes next week. It is aimed at helping up to 5,000 people who tried to sign up for insurance through the website, but failed through no fault of their own.


O’Malley said he would ask that they be allowed to buy low-cost coverage as of January 1 through a state program, MHIP, that is scheduled to be phased out once the Affordable Care Act reforms are fully implemented.

Problems with the website persist, but O’Malley still hopes that 260,000 newly-insured Marylanders will have coverage by the end of March. The goal for Medicaid enrollment is about 110,000 people, a target that O'Malley said the state is on track to exceed.