. >> rebecca pierce is confident maryland's insurance exchange will be ready for the start of obamacare open enrollment october 1st. she is rallying her staff to focus beyond the opening-day flurry of attention. >> they're going to want to know how they can possibly get coverage. but they may not buy right away. so i expect another spike in early december. when people are actually coming back in and purchasing. >> maryland, one of 16 states in the districts of columbia, which has built its own exchange, hopes to enroll 250,000 of its estimated 800,000 uninsured residents through its online marketplace in 2014. >> what is maryland health connection? >> to get those kinds of numbers, a big part of their outreach will involve traditional insurance agents. >> we were looking to supplement the market and not replace the market. we understand that there are people within the -- within the state who have done this for an awfully long time, and we were relying on the expertise of brokers. >> in new jersey, one of 34 states that opted for a federally-built exchange, brokers have been told they'l