An electronic source of
information for Federally-facilitated Marketplace (FFM) Agents and
Brokers
Marketplace Learning Management
System (MLMS) Closing
The MLMS Will Close on July 15, 2016
The plan year 2016 FFM registration and
training for agents and brokers will close on the MLMS on July 15 at
11:59 AM Eastern Time (ET) as we prepare to launch the registration and
training for plan year 2017.
To be sure your profile is updated in the
MLMS before the last day, do not sign up for a new plan
year 2016 FFM training curriculum after July 1. After this date, the MLMS
is only available for updates to your profile’s training completion
status. If you plan to complete any of the other plan year 2016 FFM
registration requirements (e.g., identity proofing, sign the applicable
Agreement(s), or print copies of your Registration Completion
Certificate[s]), you are encouraged to do so by July 14.
Please note that completion of a plan year 2016 training curriculum, or
signing the plan year 2016 FFM Agreements, does not count towards plan
year 2017 FFM registration for agents and brokers.
Myths and
Facts about the Closing of the MLMS for Plan Year 2016 Agent and Broker
Registration and Training
CMS has created the “Myths and Facts About
the Closing of the MLMS for Plan Year 2016 Agent and Broker Registration
and Training” document to dispel some of the most common misconceptions
agents and brokers have about when the MLMS closes for plan year 2016,
and how its closing will affect their ability to complete FFM
registration for plan year 2016. You should review this document on the Agents
and Brokers Resources webpage, along with the information related to
go dark provided in this newsletter, to make sure you are prepared!
You Will
Not Be Able to Access Your Plan Year 2016 Certificates When the MLMS is
Closed
Beginning on July 15 at 12:00 PM ET the 2016
FFM registration and training curriculum completion certificates for
agents and brokers will no longer be available on the
MLMS as we prepare to launch the training for plan year 2017. To print
your plan year 2016 FFM Registration Completion Certificate(s), sign in
to the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Enterprise Portal with
your FFM User ID and password. On the “My Status” page, the “Complete
Agent Broker Training” entry will show “Complete” in the “Status” column
if you have completed training. Select the “Print Certificate(s)” link
and follow the prompts. While you should retain copies of your
Registration Completion Certificate(s), CMS has directed issuers and
web-brokers to use the CMS Agent and Broker FFM Registration Completion
List to confirm you have completed all FFM registration requirements,
including required training.
If you are not sure if you have completed all
the requirements for the plan year 2016 FFM registration, check to see if
your National Producer Number (NPN) is on the most recent Agent and
Broker FFM Registration Completion List for plan year 2016, available via
the Agents
and Brokers Resources webpage. If you completed plan year 2016 FFM
registration after the date listed in the file name, check back and
confirm your NPN has been included when the new list is posted.
Resources for Agents and Brokers
Upcoming
Webinars
Plan Year 2017 FFM Registration and
Training Webinars: CMS will host two webinars on a recurring
basis during the next three months to help you complete plan year 2017
registration and training. While you are welcome to participate in either
of these webinar sessions, you may prefer to attend the webinar designed
to provide the level of information you need to know. Both webinars will
highlight updates to FFM policies and processes since plan year 2016 and
will include a web-chat question and answer session immediately following
the presentation.
Plan Year
2017 FFM Registration and Refresher Training for Agents and Brokers
Returning to the FFMs
This webinar will provide an abbreviated
review of the registration steps, and describe the new, condensed
Refresher Training option available to you if you completed registration
in plan year 2016. Webinar dates are:
o
July 13, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
o
July 19, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
o
July 28, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET
o
August 3, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
o
August 10, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
Plan Year 2017 FFM Registration and
Training for Agents and Brokers New to the FFMs
This webinar will provide a detailed
discussion of registration steps and training requirements to assure you
have the information you need to complete all the registration steps,
including some steps that returning agents and brokers need not perform.
Webinar dates are:
o
July 20, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
o
July 27, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
o
August 4, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET
Registration for the webinars is now open. To
register, please log in to www.REGTAP.info.
If you have questions on the webinar registration process, visit the
"Agent and Broker Webinars” section of the Agents
and Brokers Resources webpage for more information.
Agents and brokers will only be allowed to
register for one session.
FFM
Enrollment: Tips for Agents and Brokers in the Individual Marketplace
CMS has created the “FFM Enrollment: Tips for
Agents and Brokers in the Individual Marketplace” document to assist
agents and brokers as they assist consumers enrolling in Individual
Marketplace qualified health plans (QHPs) in the FFMs. This document
provides tips on the key screens for agent and broker assistance during
FFM enrollment. It also reviews key steps for the two enrollment
pathways, the Direct Enrollment Pathway and the Marketplace Pathway, that
agents and brokers use to help qualified individuals enroll in Individual
Marketplace QHPs. Take a moment to review this valuable resource here.
“Protection
Requirements and Appropriate Usage of Consumer’s Personally Identifiable
Information (PII)” Webinar Slides Now Available
CMS hosted the “Protection Requirements and
Appropriate Usage of Consumer’s Personally Identifiable Information
(PII),” on May 11. This webinar highlighted best practices and
requirements concerning the protection and use of consumer PII for agents
and brokers. The slides from this webinar are now available here.
Small Business Health Operations
Program (SHOP) Marketplace Corner
Helping
Employees Enroll Outside their Open Enrollment Period
The SHOP Marketplace is open all year,
meaning, you can help your small business clients enroll in SHOP
Marketplace coverage during any month of the year. Some employees and, if
applicable, their dependents may need to enroll outside their open
enrollment period.
Qualified employees and, if applicable, their
dependents may have a right to sign up for SHOP Marketplace coverage or
make changes to their coverage choices outside of the enrollment period.
Job-based plans must provide this SEP of 30 days following certain life
events that involve a change in dependent status or loss of other health
coverage. If coverage isn’t offered to dependents, the SEP applies only
to qualified employees.
Life
Events that Qualify Consumers for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) in
the SHOP Marketplace
To qualify for an SEP, employees and their
dependents (if dependent coverage is offered) must have a qualifying life
event. Here are some of the life events that would qualify a consumer for
an SEP in the SHOP Marketplace:
· A dependent is added through marriage,
birth, adoption, or placement for foster care.
· An employee or dependent loses minimum
essential coverage, such as when an employee loses job-based coverage or
the SHOP Marketplace no longer certifies the employee’s plan to offer
coverage.
· An employee moves to a new state and
gains access to an employer’s health plan.
· An employee’s enrollment or failure to
enroll in a plan is the result of the error, misrepresentation, or
inaction of an officer, employee, agent of the SHOP Marketplace, or the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The SHOP Marketplace will
evaluate and decide if these instances apply.
· An employee proves to the SHOP
Marketplace that the plan he is she is currently enrolled in has violated
a provision of its contract that relates to the employee.
Notifying
the SHOP Marketplace of Life Events
An employee’s employer must notify the SHOP
Marketplace of an employee’s life event that triggers an SEP no later
than 30 days from the date of the event. Employers with employees who
either become eligible for or lose eligibility for Medicaid or the
Children’s Health Insurance Program have 60 days from the date of the
event to notify the SHOP Marketplace.
If an employee’s employer doesn’t notify the
SHOP Marketplace of the change in circumstances within the required
timeframe, he or she must wait until the next enrollment period to make a
change.
For more information about enrolling in SHOP
Marketplace coverage outside the enrollment period, visit HealthCare.gov/small-businesses.
“SHOP
Marketplace: Health Insurance for Small Businesses, an Overview for 2016
Coverage” Webinar Slides Now Available
CMS hosted the “SHOP Marketplace: Health
Insurance for Small Businesses, an Overview for 2016 Coverage” webinar on
April 20, 2016. This webinar provided an overview of the benefits of the
SHOP Marketplace, including information on what the SHOP Marketplace is,
which employers can participate and when, options for self-employed
individuals, who is required to offer health insurance coverage, the
health and dental coverage options, how employee choice and enrollment
work, how to pay premiums, and the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.
The webinar also provided additional tools and resources for the SHOP
Marketplace. The slides from this webinar are now available here.
Spotlight on Eligibility and Enrollment
Streamlined
Document Upload for Consumers Who Cannot Complete Identity Proofing
Online or Through the Experian Call Center
While the vast majority of consumers who
create an account on HealthCare.gov successfully complete identity
proofing online or through the Experian Call Center, there are a small
percentage who need to submit documents to complete identity proofing.
The Marketplace has made an enhancement to its software to recognize
consumers in this situation, and route them around the Experian call
center step, and straight to the “document upload” step of the
Marketplace application. This is designed to save time, reduce
frustration for consumers and agents and brokers, and help consumers who
need to call the Experian Call Center be helped more efficiently.
Agents and brokers should expect that they
may have consumers who are routed straight from the core identity
proofing questions (name, address, phone number, etc.) to the “document
upload” step, and are not directed to the Experian Call Center. When this
occurs, agents and brokers should help consumers with document
submission, and should not call the Experian Call Center. To help
consumers upload or mail their additional documentation, see the Uploading
Documents page on HealthCare.gov. For a full list of documents
consumers can submit to verify their identity, you can review How
Do I Resolve an Inconsistency?
Helping Consumers
with the Immigration Section of the Online Marketplace Application
CMS has recently released a guide to the
immigration section of the online Marketplace application available here.
This guide will help you assist consumers with completing the citizenship
and immigration questions of the online Marketplace application. It also
provides step-by-step instructions and screenshots that illustrate how to
complete the following:
· Verify identity
· Provide complete and relevant
information about citizenship or immigration status
· Submit supporting documentation (if
requested)
· Complete other steps necessary for
enrollment in a QHP through the Marketplaces
· Be determined or assessed potentially
eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program
Did You Know?
The CMS
Enterprise Portal is a convenient single point of entry to numerous
CMS applications, systems, and databases for FFM agent and broker
registration and training, including the MLMS. A CMS user account is
required to log into the CMS Enterprise Portal. It is important that
users do not create multiple CMS user accounts. Having multiple or
duplicate accounts can lead to delays in receiving credit or compensation
from issuers for FFM enrollment transactions and other potential delays,
such as not being listed on the Agent and Broker FFM Registration
Completion List.
You should review the “Avoid Delays in Compensation” resource on the Agents
and Brokers Resources webpage for more information on how you can use
self-service options to find out if you have a CMS user account, reclaim
your CMS User ID and password, and reset your password. Please note that
if you created a CMS user account previously but did not complete
registration, you can still use your existing account and should not
create a new one.
Follow Us on Twitter
You can find important information and updates by following the CMS
and HealthCare.gov Twitter handles (@CMSGov and @HealthCareGov)
or by searching for the hashtags #ABFFM or #ABFFSHOP on Twitter.
Contact Us
For questions pertaining to the FFM agents and brokers program,
including FFM registration requirements, or to subscribe to this
newsletter, please contact the FFM Producer and Assister Help Desk via
email at FFMProducer-AssisterHelpDesk@cms.hhs.gov.
You may also contact the Agent and Broker Call Center by calling
1-855-CMS-1515 (855-267-1515) and selecting option “1.” Call Center
Representatives are available Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to
10:00 PM ET.
This call center does not have access to consumer information and is
not able to handle specific questions or issues with a consumer’s
application. Please continue to call the Marketplace Call Center at
1-800-318-2596 for assistance related to enrolling consumers in coverage
through the Individual Marketplaces. For assistance related to coverage
through the SHOP Marketplace, contact the SHOP Call Center at
1-800-706-7893.