As of August 29, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) now requires agents and brokers to sign in anew to their Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) accounts on the Enterprise Portal Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) website after 30 minutes of inactivity. This is a new security requirement.

Generally, an agent/advisor/broker using the EDE website is now directed to the CMS Enterprise Portal where the person signing in must enter his or her personal FFM credentials and password. After the connection is established, a 30-minute timer begins. If no relevant FFM activity occurs in that 30 minutes, the connection times out and the person will have to reconnect (reauthenticate credentials).

CMS notes that the system determines “activity” based on specific actions that connect to the FFM. These connections occur behind the scenes so reconnection may be required even if the agent/advisor/broker has been actively using an EDE website.

Prospects: CMS advises users to complete applications and enrollments in a single session whenever possible. The agency also recommends that work be saved frequently, and that users be prepared to re-sign in their CMS FFM accounts. Additional assistance is available from the Agent/Broker Email Help Desk, at FFMProducer-AssisterHelpDesk@cms.hhs.gov.

NAIFA Staff Contact: Mike Hedge – Senior Director – Government Relations, at mhedge@naifa.org