An electronic source of information for
Federally-facilitated Marketplace (FFM) Agents and Brokers
In This Issue:
·
New
Resources for Agents and Brokers
o
Upcoming
Webinars
o
New
“Operational Updates and Announcements for Agents and Brokers Participating in
the FFMs” Webinar Slides Now Available
o
New
“Agent and Broker Roadmap to Resources”
o
“Operational
Tips for Agents/Brokers for Plan Year 2016 in the FFM”
o
New
Consumer Decision Support Tools Available at HealthCare.gov
o
Plan
Year 2016 Agent and Broker FFM Registration Completion List
·
Small
Business Health Operations Program (SHOP) Corner
o
The
SHOP Marketplace is Open All Year!
o
Second
Quarter Rates Available as of February 16
o
Have
SHOP Marketplace Renewals Coming Up?
o
New
Research Findings on Small Employers and the SHOP Marketplace
·
Special
Populations — New Parents and Their New Children Enrolling in the Marketplace
Outside of Open Enrollment
·
Spotlight
on Eligibility and Enrollment
o
Help
Consumers Understand the Application Question on Filing Taxes Jointly with a
Spouse
o
Help
Consumers Estimate their Expected 2016 Income
·
Did
You Know?
Reminding Consumers to Pay Their First Month’s Premium for Health Insurance
·
Follow
Us on Twitter
·
Contact
Us
New Resources for Agents and Brokers
Upcoming Webinars
CMS will be hosting a number of topic-focused
webinars in March on the following dates and times:
·
Tax Season Readiness 101: March 9 from 12:30 – 2:00
PM ET – This webinar will cover an overview of the forms, tips, and tools
agents and brokers should be familiar with as they help consumers prepare for
the 2015 tax season.
·
SEPs in the FFMs for Plan Year 2016: March 23 from 1:00 – 2:30
PM ET – This webinar will serve as a refresher on the availability of and
requirements around SEPs and changes in circumstances.
·
Assisting Consumers with Complex Situations: March 30 from 1:00 – 2:30
PM ET – This webinar will explain how to help consumers with multi-tax
households and family members enrolling in different qualified health plans
(QHPs).
To register for any of
the above webinars, log in to www.REGTAP.info and complete the
following steps:
1.
Select
"Training Events" from "My Dashboard."
2.
Select
the "View" icon next to event title for the webinar you are
interested in attending.
3.
Select
"Register Me."
If
you require assistance with webinar registration, contact the Registrar at
800-257-9520 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET, Monday through Friday or by email at: registrar@REGTAP.info. Registration
closes 24 hours prior to each event.
New “Operational
Updates and Announcements for Agents and Brokers Participating in the FFMs”
Webinar Slides Now Available
CMS has posted slides from weeks 12 and 13 of the
“Operational Updates and Announcements for Agents and Brokers Participating in
the FFMs” webinar series. Information about what each of these webinars covered
is available on the Agents
and Brokers Resources webpage. You can review the slides by selecting one
of the following sessions:
·
Week
12: January 19, 2016
·
Week
13: January 26, 2016
New “Agent and Broker
Roadmap to Resources”
CMS has released the Agent
and Broker Roadmap to Resources, which provides important information on:
·
The
Marketplace and other health coverage topics, and links to helpful resources on
those topics
·
Information
you need to know on how to help consumers apply for and enroll in Marketplace
plans and other health coverage
·
Coverage
options available to consumers
·
What
you need to know about the Marketplace Eligibility and Enrollment process to
help consumers get coverage
·
How
to access Marketplace information and resources in other languages
·
How
to get the latest information on Marketplace policies and operations
“Operational Tips for
Agents/Brokers for Plan Year 2016 in the FFM”
The updated Operational
Tips provides answers to agent and broker questions about consumer
enrollment for plan year 2016, including how agents and brokers can assist with
enrollments, the Marketplace 2.0 application, the Direct Enrollment Pathway,
reenrollment, capturing NPNs on an application, and registration.
New Consumer Decision
Support Tools Available at HealthCare.gov
The new consumer
decision support tools piloted earlier this enrollment season are now fully
deployed to all visitors to HealthCare.gov. These tools can help consumers more
easily search for the plans that best meet their budgets and health care needs.
·
The
Out of Pocket Cost calculator helps consumers better estimate the cost of their
health insurance based on their own personal situation.
·
The
Doctor, Facility, and Prescription Drug Look-up tools provide consumers with
easily searchable information about a plan’s networks of doctors and/or medical
facilities and the prescription drugs plans may cover.
Consumers will be asked to opt-in to use the tools to be sure they
understand limitations with the data. Agents and brokers can help consumers use
these tools when reviewing plans at 2016
Health Insurance Plans & Prices.
Plan Year 2016 Agent and
Broker FFM Registration Completion List
Check the Agents
and Brokers Resources webpage to view the most recent Agent and Broker FFM
Registration Completion List for Plan Year 2016, which includes the National
Producer Numbers (NPNs) of agents and brokers who have completed plan year 2016
registration requirements for the FFM as of the date listed in the filename. If
you completed registration after the date listed, check back and confirm your
NPN has been included when the new list is posted. Issuers can review the Agent
and Broker FFM Registration Completion List to confirm that agents and brokers
with whom they have agreements are authorized to assist consumers in selecting
plans through the FFM.
If you
completed all of the plan year 2016 agent and broker registration and training
requirements for the FFM, you should review the latest list to confirm your NPN
is included. You can search for your NPN by clicking the arrow in cell A1, or
by using the “Ctrl + F” (or “Command + F”) keystroke.
Small
Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Corner
The SHOP Marketplace
is Open All Year!
Open enrollment for individuals and families is over,
but small employers can still offer their employees’ health and dental
insurance through the SHOP Marketplace on a monthly basis throughout all of
2016. SHOP Marketplace applications submitted by the 15th of the month go into
effect as soon as the 1st of the following month.
Second Quarter Rates
Available on February 16
Plan for your SHOP Marketplace enrollments and renewals
for the upcoming year. In the SHOP Marketplace, the cost for health and dental
plans available may change on a quarterly basis for new enrollments.
As you get ready for your 2016 enrollments, please keep
the following key dates in mind:
·
February
16, 2016: SHOP Marketplace rates for the Second Quarter available
·
May
6, 2016: SHOP Marketplace rates for the Third Quarter available
·
August
16, 2016: SHOP Marketplace rates the Fourth Quarter available
Visit See
2016 Health Insurance Plans & Prices to view SHOP Marketplace health
and dental plans available at Healthcare.gov.
Have SHOP Marketplace
Renewals Coming Up?
You can begin assisting your clients with their renewals
as soon as the applicable quarterly rates become available, 45-60 days before
the renewal date. Your clients will also receive renewal notices from the SHOP
Marketplace around this time. For more information, visit HealthCare.gov.
New Research Findings
on Small Employers and the SHOP Marketplace
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation commissioned research
to conduct focus groups and a national survey with employers with 50 or fewer
employees to understand their perspectives on offering health insurance, as
well as their awareness of and interest in the SHOP Marketplace. Notably, a majority
of small employers expressed an interest in enrolling in SHOP Marketplace
coverage when hearing about the benefits of the SHOP Marketplace.
You can download the study’s findings in a report or in
a recorded version of the webinar conducted on January 14, and view the
presentation slides on the new
research findings on small employers and the SHOP Marketplace.
Special
Populations — New Parents and Their New Children Enrolling in the Marketplace
Outside of Open Enrollment
Parents
who recently gave birth to, adopted, or are fostering children are eligible for
a SEP that will allow them to enroll in QHPs outside of the Open Enrollment
period. New parents may experience a change in coverage options or eligibility
for advance payments of the premium tax credit (APTC) and CSRs. Remind
consumers they should report such events to the Marketplace to find out what
changes the addition of children to their households might cause for their
coverage. For more information, check out the Helping New Parents and Their New Children Enroll in
the Marketplace Outside of Open Enrollment fact sheet.
Spotlight
on Eligibility and Enrollment
Help Consumers
Understand the Application Question on Filing Taxes Jointly with a Spouse
CMS has
added new language at HealthCare.gov to help consumers better understand
questions on the application related to household size, income, and how they
plan to file taxes. Consumers who indicate they are married, but do not plan to
file a joint federal income tax return with their spouse for 2015, will see the
following text to prompt them to consider whether they will file jointly:
If
you and your spouse are on the same tax return, select “GO BACK,” and change
your answer to “Yes” when we ask if you plan to file a joint federal income tax
return with your spouse.
If
you and your spouse aren’t on the same tax return, select “CONTINUE MY
APPLICATION.” If you file separately, you can’t get premium tax credits or
other savings, unless you meet certain specific exceptions. [Learn more about other tax filing circumstances.
Help Consumers
Estimate their Expected 2016 Income
When helping consumers fill out a Marketplace
application, it is important that you remind them that Marketplace savings are
based on their expected household income for 2016, not last year’s income.
Please take a moment to review the steps in the “How
to Estimate Your Expected 2016 Income” article on Healthcare.gov so you can
best assist consumers in estimating their expected 2016 income.
While you may provide
information to consumers about the APTC reconciliation process and the forms
that they will receive, it is important that you not provide any tax filing
advice or answer any tax filing questions. Please refer consumers seeking
answers to their questions or advice regarding their personal situations to a
tax professional for assistance or to the tax assistance options available at: IRS.gov/freefile or IRS.gov/VITA.
Did
You Know?
After
consumers have selected a new plan for 2016, they must complete one very
important task to finish enrolling — they must pay their first month’s premium
to their health insurance company, not to HealthCare.gov. As you continue to
assist consumers following Open Enrollment, please remind them to pay their
premiums to complete the enrollment process. It is important to note that each
issuer has different standards, so consumers need to pay careful attention to
their premium due date. For more information on helping consumers navigate the
payment process for their first month’s premiums, review the Healthcare.gov
Blog post, “Reminder: Don’t Forget to Pay Your First Month’s
Premium for Health Insurance.”
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.
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