The state of Maryland has been front and center on the launch of open enrollment through the new Obamacare insurance marketplaces on October 1. The week before the launch, President Obama joined Maryland governor Martin O’Malley in Largo, Maryland to boost public awareness of the marketplaces, and he said that if “every governor were working as hard as Governor O’Malley to make the Affordable Care Act work,” even more Americans would reap its benefits.

In the intervening weeks, however, the Maryland Health Connection has had its share of problems.  From concerns about the privacy policy on the site to functions not yet available to low numbers of enrollees, the launch has been anything but smooth.  Governor O’Malley finally acknowledged it could be six weeks before the “glitches in the portal” might be worked out.