Sep 30, 2013

Federally facilitated insurance marketplacesâ€â€

Many association members are wondering what comes next after they complete the certification training for the Federally-facilitated Insurance Marketplace and the Federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Program. PIA is here to help.

To write through the exchange, you need:

• a current New Jersey state health insurance license; and
• an applicable company appointment with the carrier you are looking to write health business through.

Producers in New Jersey can become certified for the Federally-facilitated Insurance Marketplace by completing a two-part registration process.

The first step is registering here, and completing the training courses, passing the applicable exams and accepting the applicable marketplace agreements. Also note that while registering, in the organization field, you will want to enter MARKETPLACE. First-time users, will have to click the "create account" link to receive their login I.D. and password. Please be sure to keep these in a safe place, as they will be required each time you enter the system. A step-by-step PowerPoint is available here, and instructions on this process begin on slide 16.

After taking the Part 1 certification portion, you will then log on to https://portal.cms.gov and create a user account and complete the identity verification through the Enterprise Identity Management System. To do so, click on the New User Registration on the right-hand side of the page.

To assist you in approaching a carrier for a possible company appointment, PIA offers PIA QuickSource document No. QS90035, titled How to present your agency to a company for appointment, as well as our BusinessLink Agency/Company Appointment Program. If you would like us to do a search for you of our participating carriers, complete the short online form here.

Q. Oct. 1 is only hours away. As an employer, what notices do I need to send to my employees?

A. As previously reported by PIA, as an employer, you have an obligation to send a notice to our employees prior to Oct. 1. For more details on what this requirement entails, check out PIAs Sept. 17 proactive email.

The health insurance marketplace will be going through many changes in the coming weeks and months. Rest assured, PIA will be following these issues on a daily basis and will keep you updated as issues arise. If you have additional staff you would like to receive these types of business-related alerts, be sure to send their names and email addresses to publications@pia.org.