How HealthSherpa helps agents safely assist their ACA clients

How HealthSherpa helps agents safely assist their ACA clients

Before COVID-19, agents and brokers got a competitive edge from using HealthSherpa for their ACA enrollments. As we continue to live with the social and economic effects of this pandemic, HealthSherpa’s solution has become indispensable for ACA enrollments and client management.

Read on for an explanation of how HealthSherpa works, and why you should consider using it for your ACA enrollments at this time.

How HealthSherpa works

HealthSherpa is a CMS-approved Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) Pathway. This lets us securely transfer data transfers with the Marketplace, which makes it possible for agents and individuals to shop, apply, and enroll in coverage on HealthSherpa site without visiting healthcare.gov.

As an agent or broker, it’s important to note that the quality of your EDE options vary. CMS  put forth 3 EDE implementation choices, which are also known as phases. Each phase lets more consumers avoid the healthcare.gov redirect, but requires a larger compliance audit.

HealthSherpa is proud to offer Phase 3 EDE, the fullest integration possible with the Marketplace, with every HealthSherpa Agent account.

What you can do with HealthSherpa during COVID-19

Since agents and brokers should not create or log into client healthcare.gov accounts, enrollment solutions are indispensable for your ACA business. Here are ways HealthSherpa helps your ACA business, so you can better serve your clients:

1. Work remotely: EDE partners are required to support certain consumer scenarios directly on their websites. These capabilities allow you to make application updates for some, if not all your clients, directly from the EDE partner’s website without being redirected to HealthCare.gov. This can allow you to assist consumers remotely without the need to work side-by-side.

2. Report changes and Special Enrollment Periods (SEP): Approved EDE partners offering an EDE Pathway are required to support reported changes in circumstances and SEPs outside of the annual Open Enrollment Period.

3. Upload client documents and view their status: Approved EDE partners provide the ability to view the status of your clients’ data matching issues and SEP verification issues, and allow you to remotely upload supporting documentation to resolve these issues.

4. Download notices: You’ll be able to download your clients’ Marketplace notices, such as the Eligibility Determination Notice and consumer 1095-As.

5. Make binder payments through the EDE pathway: Certain EDE partners allow your clients to make initial binder payments directly through their website.

Creating an account and submitting enrollments with HealthSherpa is free. We are able to do this because of our optional Referral Program, which lets you refer clients to us for any carries who you've decided to refer. You can learn more about referrals and opting in to them here.

Get started with HealthSherpa today

If you already have a HealthSherpa account, you can still enroll clients who qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) and easily report income changes for your clients. Read here for more information on SEPs, and log in here to get started.

New to HealthSherpa? Don’t worry — it’s easy to get started with a free HealthSherpa for Agents account. HealthSherpa is an approved direct enrollment pathway for healthcare.gov, and we are able to help you enroll your clients directly on our site with Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE). Through a HealthSherpa account, you can enroll, track, and service your ACA clients year-round. Visit our HealthSherpa for Agents page today to learn more and sign up for an account.