Dems trade barbs on botched insurance exchange rollouts

In Maryland and Oregon, Democratic politicians are blaming each other for problems with state-run exchanges.

The Washington Post: Governor Hopefuls Gansler, Mizeur Focus Ire On Md. Health Site During Candidates Forum
Two leading Democratic candidates for governor of Maryland harshly criticized the rollout of the state's online health insurance exchange Thursday but sparred during a candidates forum over the wisdom of a solution one of them proposed earlier in the day. Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and Del. Heather R. Mizeur (Montgomery) both told an audience of senior citizens that Maryland had no excuse for botching the start of its exchange, which has been riddled with glitches since its Oct. 1 debut (Wagner and Johnson, 1/30).

The Associated Press: Candidates Debate Fix To Health Exchange
[Maryland] Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, who also is a candidate, did not attend the forum, because his father died earlier in the day. Brown has been criticized during the campaign for the exchange's troubled rollout in Maryland. That's because he took on a leading role in implementing health care reform in the state. ... The state's exchange had problems almost as soon as it opened Oct. 1. While state officials say it has been improved, people still have problems enrolling in private health care plans through the website (1/30).

The Oregonian: Cover Oregon: Legislative Leaders Accuse Each Other Of Playing Politics In Election Year
"The most dangerous place in this building is between a Democratic legislator and a microphone right now as they all rush to denounce Cover Oregon and file bills," said House Minority Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte. Democratic lawmakers have introduced several bills to extend coverage for high-risk Oregonians in a state insurance pool, extend whistleblower protections to Cover Oregon employees, allow the governor to remove all Cover Oregon board members in a single year and require independent reviews for contracts of $1 million or more at the agency (Zheng, 1/30).

The Oregonian: Cover Oregon, CRC Dominate As Gov. John Kitzhaber, Oregon Lawmakers Prep For February Session (video)
Gov. John Kitzhaber said Thursday he wants to wait for an internal review of the disastrous roll-out of Cover Oregon before he says anything further about what went wrong and who was at fault. But he warned against looking for conspiracies. "This isn't New Jersey, and I don't think you're going to find any traffic cones out there," Kitzhaber said (1/30).