OIG to investigate Maryland’s state-run HIX
The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services is launching an investigation into Maryland’s health insurance exchange, which has been marred by computer glitches that have made it difficult for people to enroll.
The investigation will examine how millions of dollars in federal money was spent by the state. Overall, Maryland expects to spend $261 million on the exchange by the end of 2015, with more than 80 percent of it federal money, according to the Baltimore Sun.
State legislators are launching their own investigation into the exchange; the review is not expected to be completed until halfway through 2015.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who had requested the investigation, said in a statement that he is confident the OIG will thoroughly investigate problems that continue to trouble the exchange.
"Maryland officials ignored early warning signs and chose to waste and abuse federal taxpayer money by opening up what they knew was a flawed exchange to the public," he said in a statement.
Maryland is one of 14 states that opted to build their own exchange rather than use a web portal created by the federal government.