The Baltimore Sun reports that the state of Maryland has secured $123 million of federal funding to launch its health insurance exchange, the Maryland Health Connection, where hundreds of thousands of uninsured Marylanders will buy coverage. The Hilltop Institute at UMBC suggests this could cut the number of uninsured Maryland residents by half.

The Sun cites a Hilltop report in noting that “up to 150,000 individuals are expected to sign up for insurance through the Maryland exchange in the first year, and up to 275,000 by 2020.” The article continues, “[the Hilltop] review also found that approximately 101,000 will enroll in Medicaid in the first year and up to 187,275 will receive such coverage by 2020.”