CMS requires HealthSherpa (and all EDE partners) to require agents and brokers to integrate their FFM accounts. Agents who fail to do so will not be able to submit applications or upload documents to resolve data matching issues (DMI) via EDE.
This article will cover:
What to know before you integrate your FFM account
You are the only one permitted to log into your HealthSherpa for Agents account, only you may use your CMS portal credentials, and only you may actually complete or renew your FFM account integration.
When integrating your FFM account, be sure to follow these guidelines:
Do not use shared credentials. Both CMS and HealthSherpa do not allow the sharing of credentials for any account. This includes internal teams, assistants, and IT groups.
Do not share your credentials with anyone else and do not allow others to integrate or renew your integration on your behalf. Only the account holder should have and use these credentials. If another group or person has access to your credentials, they may unknowingly cause CMS to create additional account linkages you did not authorize.
Multiple accounts are still allowed. Multiple HealthSherpa accounts for a single user are allowed, but there cannot be multiple people logging into the same account or using multiple accounts with the same FFM ID simultaneously.
You should be the sole user of any account that is yours. Shared accounts are not allowed and all accounts are blocked from being accessed by more than one user at a time. This is true of CMS and HealthSherpa.
How to integrate your FFM account
Agents can visit the "Settings" tab to walk through the authentication process. If your HealthSherpa and CMS accounts are not linked, you will see several alerts through out your account letting you know action is required:
Banner at the top of your Clients table
Popup window while viewing your dashboard
Red icon placed over the “Settings” button
Follow these steps to integrate or reintegrate your FFM account:
Click into your Settings, and click the “Integrate My FFM Account” button.
This will launch the CMS Okta Identity Management portal in a new window. Log in using the same FFM username and password you use to login into your CMS account.
Once the account is integrated, you will see a success banner at the top of the screen as well as a green check mark noting you were successful.
🚨 Important! CMS requires you to integrate your accounts every 30 days 🚨
You will need to complete this authentication process every 30 days to remain in compliance with CMS requirements. To see your re-authentication date, review the FFM Account Integration settings in your Agent Dashboard. To extend your authentication, click "extend my integration now".
This will launch the CMS Okta Identity Management portal in a new window. Log in using the same FFM username and password you use to login into your CMS account just like before.
What this requirement means and how it impacts what you can do on HealthSherpa for Agents
This requirement means if you do not complete this authentication you will not be able to use Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) through your HealthSherpa account. This will impact enrollments, DMI resolution, and several other features that help you manage your book of business throughout the year. If you do not authenticate your account, CMS will not allow you to:
submit, enroll, or finalize an EDE application
update personal information for an existing EDE application
cancel an effectuated policy for an existing EDE application
review and download a notice on an existing EDE application
submit a document for a followup on an existing EDE application
search and claim an EDE application
Impacts on other existing HealthSherpa features
The following situations and features will not be impacted by this change:
Multiple accounts: Agents can still have multiple accounts with the same FFM information, but each account will need to be authenticated. Reminder: Multiple accounts are allowed, but there cannot be multiple people logging into the same account or using multiple accounts with the same FFM ID simultaneously. See more details.
NPN overrides: This will not affect the NPN override feature some Agencies utilize through their HealthSherpa account.
Shared/Full book: No impact
Tips
Make sure you're using a valid FFM User ID and password: Forgot your FFM User ID or password? Use CMS' Forgot FFM User ID or Forgot/Reset Password and skip the phone call.
Make sure you’re typing everything correctly: Entering incorrect or mistyped CMS account username or password (e.g. forgetting to include dots (.) or characters) will cause your account authentication to fail.
Ensure you have completed FFM Plan Year training: if you haven’t completed this CMS required training, your account authentication will fail. You can check your status on the AB Registration Completion List
Ensure your NPN is not banned: You can check your status on the AB Suspension and Termination List
Check your status on the CMS portal: If you have one or more invalid statuses visible on your CMS portal, your account authentication will fail. You can check your status at Agent and Broker Marketplace Registration Status.
Additional resource articles:
Still having issues?
Check out these frequently asked questions about integrating your FFM account
Contact HealthSherpa Agent Support at 888.684.1373
Or call CMS' Marketplace Service Desk (MSD) via phone at 1-855-CMS-1515