Our goal at HealthSherpa is to provide you with the right tools and resources so you can easily manage and grow your business. To get started, we recommend going through the steps outlined in this checklist. Each step will help you get familiar with your HealthSherpa for Agents account so you’re ready to start utilizing the tools, training and support available to you.

If you or your team are new to the ACA space, you may wish to reference our New to ACA? HealthSherpa is here to help article in addition to the steps outlined below.

In order to sell Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans, first you and your agents need to complete the Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) certification for the most recent plan year. Your team can get certified through HealthSherpa while also earning continuing education (CE) credits. If your agency is interested in selling ACA plans in a State-Based Marketplace (SBM), your agents will have to go through that state’s specific training and certification process.

The next step is for you and your agents to choose and get appointed with carriers offering ACA health insurance plans in states where you’re licensed. To see a list of these carriers visit HealthCare.gov’s Rate Review page. To learn about new carriers who are entering a state’s ACA market, we recommend checking for announcements directly from that carrier.

Creating a new agency account is fast and easy. You can create an agency during your initial HealthSherpa for Agents account creation by selecting "create an agency account" in step three. If you already have a HealthSherpa for Agents account, you can create an agency account at any time by visiting your Settings page. Click here for more information.

Each of your licensed agents will need their own HealthSherpa for Agents account to link to your agency; under no circumstances may agents share credentials. To join your agency, an agent simply needs to add your unique agency join code to their account. Once agents add your unique join code, they'll appear as a downline agent in your Agency page. You may also allow other agencies to join your downline as a sub-agency. Click here for more information.

CMS requires HealthSherpa (and all EDE partners) to require agents and brokers integrate their FFM accounts. Agents who fail to do so will not be able to search the Marketplace, submit applications, or view clients. As an agency administrator, you will need to do this as well.

Integrating your FFM account with your HealthSherpa for Agents account is a quick and easy process and is even seamlessly built into the sign in flow. Integrations last for 12 hours at a time. Click here for more information.

Enhanced Direct Enrollment is an exciting technology that allows HealthSherpa to fully integrate with HealthCare.gov. That means you can process applications, submit follow-ups, and track status without ever leaving HealthSherpa — so managing your agency is easy and more streamlined. To turn on EDE, log into your HealthSherpa for Agents account, click on the “Enable EDE” button on the top, and complete the short ID verification process. Also, make sure to let your agents know about this important step.

The HealthSherpa Enrollee Assistance Shared-Service Model allows you to maintain a strong relationship with your consumers throughout the year and partner with HealthSherpa to provide ACA application assistance, enrollment assistance, and ongoing support for your consumer’s ACA health plan.

If an agent decides to enable the Enrollee Assistance Program, they will be able to choose which carriers they'd like to enable EAP. If the application is submitted using EAP, the application will be processed using HealthSherpa's NPN. If the application is not submitted using EAP, the agent's NPN (or Override NPN) will be applied.

HealthSherpa compensates participating agents at the time of enrollment, and additional compensation may occur when consumers stay with the plan for a defined period of time. By default, HealthSherpa pays bonus and EAP dollars to the individual agents who earn them. Alternatively, you may choose to participate in our HealthSherpa Agency JMA, which pays these dollars out at the agency level instead of to the agents directly. This lets you disperse payouts according to your agent agreements.

If agent's decide to opt into the program, a popup detailing our Joint Marketing Agreement will appear. Learn more about the Enrollee Assistance Program here.

Note: Each participating agent remains responsible for complying with all applicable state insurance laws regarding licensure and appointment. The EAP may not be used to circumvent state laws that require agents be appointed with a carrier in order to discuss that carrier’s plans with a consumer.

Your Carrier Settings page is the place to add your licensed states, add your appointed carriers, and (if you have the HealthSherpa Enrollee Assistance Shared-Service Model enabled) to set your Enrollee Assistance Program (EAP) Carriers. To access this menu, click on the gear icon located on the top, right-hand side of your dashboard, and select "carriers." Click here for more information.

As the primary agency admin, you control a handful of settings that you can find under the “Agency” page inside your dashboard. You also have the option to grant admin access to other agents so they can control these settings, too. Here’s a quick overview:

Click here for more information or watch this video to learn more about the unique Agency features on HealthSherpa for Agents.

Our team hosts live webinars so you can get familiar with HealthSherpa’s powerful shopping, enrollment and marketing tools designed to help you grow your business. Register for a training session in English or in Spanish.

When you create a HealthSherpa for Agents account, you also get access to your own branded enrollment website. We love this feature because it gives your clients the opportunity to self-enroll and saves you time to focus on other parts of your business. Plus, it’s a great tool for marketing and promotion.

To start using your own branded enrollment website all you have to do is click on the marketing page inside your dashboard, customize your landing page, and start sharing your unique link with clients. When clients enroll through your unique direct marketing link, they are associated with your account and will have your NPN automatically applied to any application submitted. Note: If you are participating in the Enrollee Assistance Program (EAP), the NPN applied will depend on your specific EAP and any alternative Carrier Settings you have in place for respective carriers.

As an agency administrator, you can also share your unique link with your agents so that all consumer driven applications are connected to your carrier settings — or agents can use their own enrollment website which will be connected to their carrier settings.

Now it’s time to import your existing book of business. Once you do, you will be able to easily manage your clients and leads, report changes, process renewals, plus more, directly from your HealthSherpa for Agents account. To get started, head over to the “Clients” page inside your dashboard and click on the “Import” button. Then follow the steps shown to upload your existing clients. To upload leads, go through the same process starting from the “Leads” page.

With your HealthSherpa for Agents account you get access to powerful shopping and enrollment tools so you can: 1. Easily filter, compare, and share plans with your clients. 2. Access fast, accurate quoting with subsidy estimation. 3. Quickly search for providers and prescriptions. 4. Find plans from all carriers in your area. 5. Access pre-filled renewal applications, plus more. To start enrolling clients, click on the “Quote” button on the top of your dashboard!

Contact our HealthSherpa Agency Sales Team at Agency_Sales@HealthSherpa.com. You may also reach out to Agent Support at Agent_Support@HealthSherpa.com or (888) 684-1373. We're available to answer any questions that relate to your account, enrolling clients, new policy, plus more. Agent Support's contact information can also be found by clicking on the question mark icon on the top, right-hand side of your dashboard and selecting the "Support" button.

Agency Resource Guide: This is one of the best places to learn more about HealthSherpa and how our platform can help you easily manage your agency. This page includes step-by-step instructions on creating a new account, navigating your dashboard, utilizing our shopping, enrollment, and lead management tools, plus more.

Agent Help Center: If you have any questions that relate to your HealthSherpa for Agents account, you likely will find the answer here. Our Agent Help Center is made up of over 100 articles, each one providing a detailed walkthrough of the tools, training or support available to you. Click here to visit the Help Center in Spanish.

Monthly Newsletter: Keep an eye out for our monthly newsletter where we share exciting new product features, helpful resources, Marketplace insights, ACA news, plus more.