Rule Effective for Plan Year 2018

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a new rule that allows employers to directly enroll in SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program) coverage through a SHOP-registered agent or broker. This enrollment approach is now generally available in federally-facilitated SHOPs (FF-SHOPs), including state-based Exchanges using the federal platform for SHOP, for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2018. State-based Exchanges operating their own SHOPs can also adopt this new approach.