Staggered launch could help Md. 'kick the tires' of its new health exchange website

“A day after Maryland committed to a gradual launch of its health exchange, state officials are still working out some key details — including where the opening day sign-up will be held — but experts say it could be a way to avoid a repeat of last year’s botched rollout.
Several health experts said the approach that limits enrollment in the first few days could allow Maryland to “kick the tires” on its new website.
“It’s a controlled way to open enrollment,” said Karen Pollitz, senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “They can work with a controlled number of people for the first couple of days to see how this works in practice. I’m assuming there is some plan at the end of the day when people gather in a room and compare notes and say we need to fix this or that.””