Special enrollment periods (when consumers can sign up for health insurance outside of the standard open enrollment period) are only to be used in certain qualifying circumstances. To ensure that special enrollment options are not abused, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may be piloting a program to monitor and verify special enrollment insurance sign-ups.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a request for information seeking public comment on concerns that some health care providers and provider-affiliated organizations may be steering people eligible for, or receiving, Medicare and/or Medicaid benefits into Affordable Care Act-compliant individual market plans, including Health Insurance Marketplace plans, for the purpose of obtaining higher reimbursement rates. CMS also sent letters to all Medicare-enrolled dialysis facilities and centers informing them of this announcement.

To ensure that the Marketplace is strong, and able to provide affordable health insurance coverage to Americans in all states, the Marketplace must cultivate a healthy risk pool. In other words, the Marketplace needs to enroll a mix of those who are actively treating and those who simply need preventative care. With this goal in mind, HHS made three announcements in June about their efforts to strengthen the risk pool.

Federally-facilitated Marketplace (FFM) registration and training for agents and brokers for the 2016 plan year will close on the Marketplace Learning Management System (MLMS) on July 15 at 11:59 AM Eastern Time.