Why States Are Doing Obamacare Better

A small—and somewhat surprising—handful of states are implementing Obamacare much more effectively than the Obama administration.

HealthCare.gov, the federally run website to sign up for coverage in most of the country, remains plagued by problems: Many consumers still can't use the site three weeks after its launch, and insurance companies are sometimes getting incorrect information about the trickle of enrollees who do get through.

But in a couple of states, things are looking better. Their insurance marketplaces are humming along, or at least overcoming early technical issues. Some are reporting accurate information to insurance companies.

So what did those states do right that the Health and Human Services Department did wrong?

Several factors separate HealthCare.gov from the state exchanges getting the best reviews, which include the marketplaces in Kentucky, Rhode Island, and Washington state. But health care experts say they boil down to this: HHS had neither a good plan nor appropriate oversight of its contractors.