Faulty state Obamacare exchanges weigh joining HealthCare.gov

A few U.S. states whose newly created Obamacare insurance exchanges were stalled by technology failures may join the federal government's HealthCare.gov marketplace for next year, while only two states that relied on the administration plan to go it alone. Exchange officials in Oregon, Maryland and Massachusetts are weighing whether to enlist new private technology contractors or to turn to the federal government after faulty exchanges slowed enrollment in their states to the lowest rates in the country. The reshuffle would mean the federal government would continue to remain responsible for enrolling millions of people in coverage under President Barack Obama's healthcare law in most of the country next year, a far cry from its goal of independent marketplaces in all 50 states. Republicans have sought to defund it, even shutting down the government last year in an attempt to do so.