Open enrollment on HealthCare.gov starts November 1, and the rules for the agents and brokers who help consumers enroll look different than they did a year ago. On September 22, CMS announced a package of anti-fraud actions for the Federal Marketplace, including a temporary freeze on new broker registrations for plan year 2027. If you already work in the individual market, or you help CHOICE Arrangement (ICHRA) participants buy their own coverage, here's what changed and what to do about it.
What CMS announced
CMS described a three-part strategy: prevent improper enrollments up front, remove unauthorized enrollments already on the books, and enforce its rules for agents and brokers. The headline actions:
- Canceled enrollments. On August 31, CMS canceled about 315,000 plan year 2026 enrollments covering more than 760,000 people after confirming they were unauthorized. CMS expects this to return about $2.2 billion in advance premium tax credit payments.
- Broker terminations. Since January 2026, CMS has sent termination notices to more than 200 non-compliant agents and brokers. This summer it also issued 569 notices of intent to terminate to brokers who submitted 2026 applications without identifying information such as a Social Security number.
- A registration moratorium. Agents and brokers who don't have a plan year 2026 Exchange agreement can't register with the Federally-facilitated Exchanges for 2027 until the moratorium ends.
Who the moratorium affects
The moratorium was issued as an interim final rule, effective September 22, 2026. It applies to the Federally-facilitated Exchange and to state-based exchanges that use the federal platform, which together make up the HealthCare.gov states. It does not affect registration with state-based exchanges that run their own platforms.
If you have an active 2026 Exchange agreement, you can renew for 2027 as usual. If you don't, you can't complete 2027 registration on the federal platform until February 1, 2027, unless CMS lifts, extends, or modifies the moratorium sooner. That date falls after the HealthCare.gov open enrollment period, which runs from November 1, 2026, through January 15, 2027.
CMS based the freeze on its own data. It says brokers who first registered for 2026 were a small share of broker-assisted enrollment but accounted for a disproportionate share of high-risk activity. Compared with brokers registered before 2026, their enrollments were 2.8 times more likely to have unresolved income verification issues and 2.7 times more likely to be missing Social Security numbers. Healthcare Dive reported that new brokers made up 11% of all brokers but 30% of compliance-related terminations for 2026.
Comments on the interim final rule are due November 21, 2026.
New requirements for every broker
Even if the moratorium doesn't apply to you, these protections do:
- Re-verify your identity. All existing agents and brokers must complete identity proofing again through Login.gov or ID.me.
- Verifiable identifiers on every assisted application. Applications involving an agent or broker must include a Social Security number or immigration document number that CMS can verify for every applicant except newborns.
- No adding yourself to self-service applications. CMS now prohibits agents and brokers from being added to applications that consumers should complete on their own through HealthCare.gov.
- Electronic consumer authorization. Before open enrollment, CMS said it will require electronic consumer authorization before a broker can take any action on an application or enrollment.
CMS also said it will provide training and communications on the new requirements before open enrollment. Watch for those notices and build them into your workflow now, not in the first busy week of November.
How the industry is reacting
Reaction has been mixed. AHIP, the health insurer trade group, told Healthcare Dive that "no amount of fraud is ever acceptable." The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors said it shares the goal of reducing fraud but has "serious concerns" about a blanket freeze, calling it a blunt response to a problem CMS describes as concentrated. Consumer advocates questioned the broader crackdown, noting that marketplace enrollment fell 13% this year, a period that also saw enhanced subsidies expire.
One practical effect is fewer new brokers available during open enrollment in HealthCare.gov states. The interim final rule itself estimates that, without the freeze, close to 20,000 new agents and brokers would have registered during the moratorium period. For established brokers, that likely means more inbound demand at a time when every application takes a few more steps.
What to do before November 1
- Confirm your 2027 registration. Finish your plan year 2027 Exchange registration and training early, and complete identity re-proofing through Login.gov or ID.me.
- Update your intake process. Collect Social Security or immigration document numbers for every applicant up front, and plan for the electronic consent step on every action you take.
- Review your book. Check whether any of your clients were affected by the August cancellations, and make sure your contact and consent records are complete.
- Know your state. If you work in a state with its own exchange, check that exchange's broker rules and deadlines separately. The federal moratorium doesn't apply there, but state requirements may have changed too.
- Brief your employer clients. Employees in a CHOICE Arrangement (ICHRA) who buy coverage through HealthCare.gov will go through the same verification and consent steps. Encourage them to start early so they finish by December 15 for January 1 coverage.
Where Choice Arrangement Deck fits
With fewer new brokers in the market and more steps per enrollment, preparation matters. Choice Arrangement Deck lets you search and compare individual market plans and premiums in all 50 states and Washington, DC, and run CHOICE Arrangement affordability analyses from an employer's census, so you can walk into each conversation with the numbers already done.
The bottom line
The moratorium mostly affects brokers who are new to the federal marketplace, but the new identity, data, and consent requirements apply to everyone. Brokers who handle them early will spend open enrollment helping clients choose plans instead of fixing paperwork.