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The operators of Maryland’s health insurance Web site improperly stored Social Security numbers and other customer information while awarding millions of dollars in contracts without ensuring the money would be spent properly, according to a state audit released Friday. (Nirappil, 10/9)

A state legislative audit sharply criticized Maryland health exchange officials for a wide range of fiscal failures, including how it awarded contracts to companies building the state's initially troubled online insurance marketplace. The rollout of the Maryland Health Connection in 2013 was one of the worst under President Barack Obama's landmark health care reform initiative. The state ended up cutting ties with the initial contractor and replacing the technology behind the exchange. (McDaniels and Cox, 10/9)