Brown: Gansler sounds like a Republican

By: Bryan P. Sears Daily Record Government Reporter January 13, 2014

When it comes to his comments on the state’s struggling implementation of its health benefits exchange, Douglas Gansler sounds like a Republican, according to Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown’s campaign.

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown

Justin Schall, Brown’s campaign manager, issued a statement Monday, hours after Gansler criticized him on WBAL radio for being out of touch on issues troubling the the MarylandHealthConnection.gov site.

“[Brown] was sort of absent for the whole thing,” Gansler said. “In his defense, this is a guy who never ran anything, never managed anybody. He’s been floating around for six or seven years and all of a sudden to put him in charge of the president’s signature rollout policy program and something so important here in Maryland to get people access to health care that didn’t have it before. To put him in charge of something that important, it was too big—obviously it was too big for him.”

Brown, who is running against Gansler in the 2014 Democratic primary for governor, fired back late Monday saying the Democratic attorney general was more interested in criticizing than offering solutions.

“Once again, Doug Gansler sounds just like a Republican attacking health care reform,” Schall said in an emailed statement. “Instead of working with the Legislature and the Governor’s office to offer practical solutions, he is simply trying to score cheap political points to further his own political ambition.”

Schall went on to say that the difference between Gansler and Brown is that the lieutenant governor “remains focused on doing everything in his power to get as many Marylanders enrolled in a quality affordable healthcare plan as quickly as possible.”

As of last week, 20,358 residents signed up for insurance through the state site.

Brown is expected to testify tomorrow before committees in the House and Senate on an emergency bill that, if passed, would provide insurance to residents who thought they signed up for benefits through the state’s health care exchange but are finding out that they do not have coverage.