Ok, so I get this email from Black & Gould agency here in AZ, and it contained some info that I had not seen before from a recent conf call between NAHU and HHS.
1. It looks like we will still have our imbedded broker links with each of the carriers (a great thing)
2. Quote engines like Norvax, and the imbedded agent links will still be in business (these will act as our comparison marketplace still)
3. I think we will still have to determine subsidy eligibility through the FFE exchange first though, then redirect the client to our carrier link.
4. I hope they provide a unique agent ID, for those that continue through the FFE application process.
What am I missing??
--------------
[FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]STAKEHOLDER CALL WITH HHS: Letter from NAHU
[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]By Jessica Fulginiti Waltman
Sr. V.P., Government Affairs
National Association of Health Underwriters
Dear NAHU Legislative Leaders,
I just wanted to let you know that Peter Nakahata from CMS asked to have a call with Janet and me this afternoon about
brokers and the federally facilitated exchange. The information on this call was only about federally facilitated and partnership
exchanges, not state-based exchanges. HHS still fully intends to use agents and brokers to sell and service individual
and group exchange products in the federally facilitated exchanges and partnership exchanges and they will certify and
register brokers beginning in August. However, they have decided for 2014 that they probably will not have the IT capabilities
for 2014 to have a standalone portal for broker-placed business on the individual side. Instead of using the FFE portal to
place business for all products, agents will use the regular consumer exchange to review products with clients and then place
the business directly through the carriers as you do now. Carriers will have their own interface with the federal exchange,
and brokers will work through each carrier’s online connection to the exchange to get subsidy determinations and actually
complete the enrollment. So from the agent perspective, it really means a status quo in the individual market with the added
benefit that exchange coverage may be subsidized for some applicants.
Navigators and assisters will not have a portal now either and they will not interface with carriers directly. They’ll just work
with consumers through the basic online exchange interface available to any consumer. Navigators /assisters are going to
probably have a unique identifier that will go on applications they submit through the traditional interface and we AGAIN
strongly suggested that brokers do too, since an individual could work with a broker and then submit the application themselves
online. CMS seemed very agreeable to this suggestion.
It seems like for now, web-based entities will have the ability to interface with the exchange as planned, but it wouldn’t
shock me if this piece also wound up being delayed for 2014 at some point before October.
As for the federally facilitated SHOP exchange, they probably will also delay the broker interface there but apparently that
is a little bit less final of a decision because of the potential enrollment impact. However, they have already decided to
delay aggregating premiums and choices of plans for employees in 2014, so I think the expectation is already clear at HHS
that employer enrollment will be significantly lower than originally hoped because those two factors too. Given the IT
concerns HHS indicated, I would be very surprised if there is a significant stand-alone broker SHOP interface for the federally
facilitated and partnership exchanges in 2014.
This also means that the long-planned agent/broker/navigator guidance we’ve been waiting for is now going to be delayed
further.
In any case, the change really just represents current market status quo for agents. I am not even sure most members will
even understand the difference, and in some ways it may even be easier for them, but since you all have been following
exchange development activities so closely, I wanted to let you know right away. If you have any questions, please let me
know.[/FONT]
1. It looks like we will still have our imbedded broker links with each of the carriers (a great thing)
2. Quote engines like Norvax, and the imbedded agent links will still be in business (these will act as our comparison marketplace still)
3. I think we will still have to determine subsidy eligibility through the FFE exchange first though, then redirect the client to our carrier link.
4. I hope they provide a unique agent ID, for those that continue through the FFE application process.
What am I missing??
--------------
[FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]STAKEHOLDER CALL WITH HHS: Letter from NAHU
[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]By Jessica Fulginiti Waltman
Sr. V.P., Government Affairs
National Association of Health Underwriters
Dear NAHU Legislative Leaders,
I just wanted to let you know that Peter Nakahata from CMS asked to have a call with Janet and me this afternoon about
brokers and the federally facilitated exchange. The information on this call was only about federally facilitated and partnership
exchanges, not state-based exchanges. HHS still fully intends to use agents and brokers to sell and service individual
and group exchange products in the federally facilitated exchanges and partnership exchanges and they will certify and
register brokers beginning in August. However, they have decided for 2014 that they probably will not have the IT capabilities
for 2014 to have a standalone portal for broker-placed business on the individual side. Instead of using the FFE portal to
place business for all products, agents will use the regular consumer exchange to review products with clients and then place
the business directly through the carriers as you do now. Carriers will have their own interface with the federal exchange,
and brokers will work through each carrier’s online connection to the exchange to get subsidy determinations and actually
complete the enrollment. So from the agent perspective, it really means a status quo in the individual market with the added
benefit that exchange coverage may be subsidized for some applicants.
Navigators and assisters will not have a portal now either and they will not interface with carriers directly. They’ll just work
with consumers through the basic online exchange interface available to any consumer. Navigators /assisters are going to
probably have a unique identifier that will go on applications they submit through the traditional interface and we AGAIN
strongly suggested that brokers do too, since an individual could work with a broker and then submit the application themselves
online. CMS seemed very agreeable to this suggestion.
It seems like for now, web-based entities will have the ability to interface with the exchange as planned, but it wouldn’t
shock me if this piece also wound up being delayed for 2014 at some point before October.
As for the federally facilitated SHOP exchange, they probably will also delay the broker interface there but apparently that
is a little bit less final of a decision because of the potential enrollment impact. However, they have already decided to
delay aggregating premiums and choices of plans for employees in 2014, so I think the expectation is already clear at HHS
that employer enrollment will be significantly lower than originally hoped because those two factors too. Given the IT
concerns HHS indicated, I would be very surprised if there is a significant stand-alone broker SHOP interface for the federally
facilitated and partnership exchanges in 2014.
This also means that the long-planned agent/broker/navigator guidance we’ve been waiting for is now going to be delayed
further.
In any case, the change really just represents current market status quo for agents. I am not even sure most members will
even understand the difference, and in some ways it may even be easier for them, but since you all have been following
exchange development activities so closely, I wanted to let you know right away. If you have any questions, please let me
know.[/FONT]