This weekly email summarizes the content of emails distributed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to agents and brokers during the preceding week to keep you up-to-date on the Federally-facilitated Marketplaces (FFMs).

As these sent emails are not posted publicly, to retrieve the complete email messages, use these email subject lines, dates of receipt (noted in parentheses), or keywords derived from the summaries to search for them in your email account. You can also refer to the additional resources noted as hyperlinks in the summaries to learn more.

Plan Year 2016 FFM Agent/Broker Registration and Training is Now Closed (July 18)

Plan year 2016 FFM registration closed on July 14 and expires on October 31, 2016. CMS is preparing to launch the plan year 2017 registration soon, and will provide information on the Agents and Brokers Resources webpage.

CMS Marketplace.cms.gov Survey (July 18)

CMS asks agents and brokers to complete a short survey on their Marketplace.cms.gov experience and share ideas as CMS prepares for the next open enrollment season. The link to the survey is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/77562JV 

Migration of the Agent and Broker FFM Registration Completion List (RCL) to Data.HealthCare.gov (July 18)

Starting on July 18, both the Agent and Broker FFM Registration Completion List (RCL) and the Agent and Broker FFM Registration Termination List files will be upgrading to the Data.HealthCare.gov platform. These lists will be updated as frequently as daily. Access to the newly migrated FFM lists will also continue to be available through the Agents and Brokers Resources webpage. Agents and brokers can review the RCL to confirm if they have completed registration and are authorized to assist consumers in selecting qualified health plans through the FFMs.

News for Federally-facilitated Marketplace Agents and Brokers - July 2016 Edition (July 18)

The July edition of the “News for Agents and Brokers” newsletter is available. See this newsletter for information on upcoming webinars, description of new resources available via the Agents and Brokers Resources webpage, a link to the Small Business Health Operations Program (SHOP) Marketplace LinkedIn webpage, and guidance on how to help consumers reduce the impact of data matching issues.

Learn how to avoid creating duplicate CMS Enterprise Portal accounts, and how to retrieve your FFM User ID and password (July 19)

See the Quick Reference Guide: Avoiding the Creation of a Duplicate CMS Enterprise Account for step-by-step instructions on how you can determine if you have a CMS Enterprise Portal user account already and how you can retrieve your FFM User ID and password.

Agents and Brokers: New resources available on the Agents and Brokers Resources webpage (July 19)

CMS has posted new resources to the Resources for Agents and Brokers webpage:

• “Agent and Broker Guide to the Immigration Section of the Online Marketplace Application,” which you can use to help non-citizen consumers complete Marketplace eligibility and enrollment activities
• “Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs): Overview for the Federally-facilitated Marketplaces (FFMs)” webinar slides (presented on June 28), which provide an overview of the SEP process and include examples of life events that could qualify consumers for an SEP, and how to use the SEP to get coverage
• “Special Enrollment Confirmation Process” webinar slides (presented on June 29), which explain how agents and brokers can help consumers respond to a new CMS requirement that consumers provide documents to verify their eligibility for certain SEPs 

FAQs on closing of plan year 2016 registration and upcoming plan year 2017 registration posted in REGTAP (July 20)

Find frequently asked questions (FAQs) on how the closing of plan year 2016 registration affects your ability to support consumers until the plan year 2016 Agreements expire on October 31, 2016 on the Registration for Technical Assistance Portal (REGTAP) website. To access the searchable REGTAP FAQ database, log in at https://www.regtap.info/ and select the “FAQs” button.

Register now for the “Summer 2016 PDM for Consumers with Medicaid or CHIP MEC: An Overview of for Agents and Brokers” webinar on August 5 (July 20)

This webinar will provide an overview of the summer 2016 periodic data matching (PDM) process for consumers enrolled in both a Marketplace qualified health plan with advance payments of the premium tax credit and/or cost-sharing reductions and minimum essential coverage (MEC) through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). To register for the webinar, log in to www.REGTAP.info.

Annual Income Threshold FAQ (July 21)

CMS released an FAQ to clarify changes in its household income verification process. This change will allow more consumers to have their household income immediately verified by the Marketplace when they submit an application.

 

Reminder of Upcoming "Plan Year 2017 Registration and Training" Webinars (July 21)

Registration closes soon for next week’s presentations on Wednesday, July 27 (for new agents and brokers) and on Thursday July 28 (for returning agents and brokers). See the “Agent and Broker Webinars” section of the Agents and Brokers Resources webpage for information about the scheduling of these and other webinar sessions, and instructions on how to register.

Contact Us:

• For information about the FFM agent and broker program, contact the Producer and Assister Help Desk via email at FFMProducer-AssisterHelpDesk@cms.hhs.gov or call the Agent and Broker Call Center at 1-855-267-1515 and select option “1.”
• Direct questions about a client’s Individual Marketplace plan to the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596.
• Direct questions about SHOP Marketplace coverage to the SHOP Call Center at 1-800-706-7893.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has sent this update. To contact Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) go to our contact uspage.