It’s been over five months that the state’s health insurance exchange, the Health Benefits Exchange, was launched. It was plagued by problems from the start. As of mid-February, it still has “major IT defects,” according to Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Ever since it was launched on October 1, state officials have outdone themselves in trying to lay the blame for this website’s failures with someone else. Anyone can see now that the exchange doesn’t work well. But I wanted to know what people were saying before it launched. So I did a little search, and found some quotes from state officials about the Health Benefits Exchange over the past few years.

Two of the most interesting quotes come from President Obama and Governor O’Malley. On September 26, 2013, President Obama visited Largo to praise Governor O’Malley’s implementation of ObamaCare. He also praised the upcoming launch of the state’s health insurance exchange, and he had this to say about it: “It's a website where you can compare and purchase affordable health insurance plans, side-by-side, the same way you shop for a plane ticket on Kayak -- (laughter) -- same way you shop for a TV on Amazon.”

Fewer than three months later, Governor O’Malley repudiated these words: “This is not like ordering a book on Amazon. Each person that applies is unique in terms of the family, the number of people in their family, their income levels … the final result is when we click on and elect a plan.” Perhaps I missed him correcting the president when he made that very comparison in Largo.

Here are a few other interesting quotes from pro-ObamaCare politicians about how great Maryland’s health insurance exchange will be:

President Barack Obama

“Like any law, like any big product launch, there are going to be some glitches as this thing unfolds. Folks in different parts of the country will have different experiences. It's going to be smoother in places like Maryland where governors are working to implement it rather than fight it.” September 26, 2013, in Largo

Governor Martin O’Malley

“…we will continue our work to ensure that our State is on track to have an operational health benefit exchange by 2014…” November 14, 2011

Governor Martin O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown

“The day after the Affordable Care Act became law, we established the Health Care Reform Coordinating Council to oversee federal reform in Maryland, and today, our State is recognized as a national leader for our efforts to build Maryland’s Health Benefit Exchange…” March 23, 2012

Lt. Governor Anthony Brown

“Maryland’s Health Benefit Exchange is the most important component of our health care reform efforts.” May 2, 2012

The health insurance exchange “will become synonymous with a one-stop, transparent marketplace where individuals and small businesses can compare rates, benefits and quality among private insurance plans to find one that best suits their needs.” August 23, 2012

Sen. Barbara Mikulski

“The fact that Maryland is one step ahead of the curve in implementing these Exchanges comes as no surprise. It is good news for all Marylanders and will serve as a good template for the nation moving forward.” December 10, 2012

Health Care Lobbyist Vincent Demarco

“Dr. Sharfstein and everybody in the O’Malley-Brown Administration has [sic] done a great job of making Maryland one of the leading states in making the Affordable Care Act work.” August 8, 2013

“The exchange bill that passed this year is a national model…” July 13, 2012

Legislation to establish the Health Benefits Exchange “puts Maryland on the path to build one of the best health insurance exchanges in the country.” February 15, 2012