Medicaid expansion, health exchanges dominate gubernatorial debates

In Georgia, where a runoff is considered likely, Gov. Nathan Deal went on the offensive and criticized a third-party candidate's support for expanding Medicaid. In Maryland, Republican candidate Larry Hogan slammed Democratic Lt. Governor Anthony Brown for his role in the state's troubled health exchange launch.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Candidates Are Ready For A Runoff … But Not Happy About It
If you needed any proof that Republicans are worried about a looming runoff, look no further than Sunday's gubernatorial debate. That's when Gov. Nathan Deal, instead of lobbing a softball at his Libertarian rival, unloaded a double-barreled attack questioning his support for a Medicaid expansion and criticizing the millions of dollars in federal grants his technology firms accepted (Bluestein and Malloy, 10/20).

Baltimore Sun: Hogan Slams Brown, O'Malley Administration On Health Care Lawsuit Delay
Reppublican gubernatorial candidate Larry Hogan criticized the O'Malley administration Monday over its decision to delay a lawsuit against the contractor it has blamed for the failed launch of the state's health exchange web site. Hogan, locked in a battle with Democratic Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown with two weeks to go before Election Day, accused the administration of putting politics ahead of the taxpayers by delaying court action against Noridian Healthcare Solutions. The state fired Noridian in April for poor performance and vowed to recover $55 million it spent on the web site, which crashed on its first day of operation last October. Maryland decided early this year to scrap the web site and develop a new one based on software used on the more successful Connecticut site (Dresser, 10/20).