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Posted on 04/19/2014 5:14:06 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Maryland has given up on its Obamacare website, but not before spending $90 million of taxpayer funding on technology, according to a cost breakdown released Friday.
Of the $90 million, exchange board Chairman Joshua Sharfstein said that the marketplace spent $55 million on the website itself, The Washington Post reports. Officials opted in late March, after six months of struggling with the inoperable system, to give up on fixing the website and start over again with a model of Connecticut’s more successful exchange website.
Maryland’s Obamacare exchange received millions in federal taxpayer dollars to build its Affordable Care Act website and was even awarded early innovator grants that earned it even more taxpayer funding. But the website crashed on the first day of open enrollment and officials have been unable to fix it.
The late decision won’t help anyone who hoped to sign up for health insurance on the exchange for 2014. The open enrollment period in Maryland closes Friday, with a special exception for more than 18,000 people who have already requested extra time to sign up due to the website’s problems. Sharfstein said Tuesday that the exchange will serve these customers, whether or not they get to it before the extended deadline.
Sharfstein released the exchange’s budget details Friday. Officials spent $129.8 million by March 26 to create and host the exchange as a whole, not just the website, which financial officials reported Tuesday. But the newly released breakdown reveals that technology — including the website that’s already been tossed aside — cost a whopping $91.7 million, mostly paid to Noridian Healthcare Solutions.
Maryland spent $49.9 million on the development of the exchange; $11 million for hosting the website; $3 million for maintenance; and $8.1 million on a small business exchange, which has not yet been launched.
Assorted costs outside of the massive technology budget included salaries at $6.4 million; advertising at $6.2 million; additional consultants for $3.2 million; training at $3.3 million; and a combined $13.3 million for navigators, assisters and call centers for those seeking help with the health care law and the shoddy state website.
Maryland’s contract with Deloitte will cost between $40 million and $50 million, the Baltimore Sun reports. It’s not clear where the money will come from, though, according to The Washington Post. Sharfstein has said Maryland may legally recover money from Noridian and others that built the exchange, but may also ask for even more federal grants.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
Way back when my company partnered with several big companies to work on these exchanges.
We didn’t win any because we weren’t cost competitive. I think our proposal was for $4-8 million.
Not to worry! We have money to burn here in Maryland!
How many people live in Maryland ? How much of 90 million would each person get ?
PIKERS....Oregon has spent nearly $200 million and hasn’t been able to use it to sign up a single person...
That is a remarkable record of consistency!
The idiot Lieutenant Governor was placed in charge of putting together the website (his main responsibility from what I’ve seen) and has been an absolute FAILURE. Of course, the DimocRAT establishment in Maryland now wants this incompetent FAILURE to be the next governor. And he just may be—go figure.
But if it's a government contract, you usually get nothing for your money except scr*wed. The only ones who get anything are the slimy politicians who spend it and the crooks who they give it to. They make out like bandits. In fact, that's exactly what they are. Why aren't they in jail?
Here is the frosting on the cake. The state appointed a commission to inquire into the the screw up and they said on Friday that they could not find anyone accountable or responsible for the fiasco.
But he has the politically correct amount of melanin in his epidermis so he can do no wrong. Ever.
Therefore he WILL be the next Governor of Maryland.
So let it be written, so let it be done.
Maryland has around 5 million people, so we’d each get about 14 bucks.
I shall escape soon enough.
Where did you get this? Link? I would really like to follow up on this.
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