Republican Governor Candidate Craig Proposes Health Care Exchange Fix

Harford County Executive David Craig released a plan Monday he believes will help residents obtain health care insurance using other methods beside the state’s exchange website.

Craig’s plan involves using federal grant money awarded to the state for promoting its health care exchange to alert residents to the ability to enroll in insurance plans through a insurance broker or directly through an insurance company.

"Up to $150 million is going to towards promoting a failing exchange, and throwing good money after bad needs to end now," Craig, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, said in a news release. "The administration must realize that their intended solutions are only causing more problems, creating mass confusion, ruining credibility in government and harming our quality of life."

Maryland’s exchange website, Marylandhealthconnection.gov, has been plagued by problems, and has seen fewer people enroll than in state’s with lower population such as Kentucky.

The sites problem and low enrollment numbers have become a campaign issue. Opponents have used the issues to attack Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, because he was tasked with overseeing the creation and implementation of the exchange.  

Last month Gov. Martin O’Malley announced that major problems with the website have been corrected. But concerns about whether enough people will enroll to make the exchange successful by the March deadline.