HealthSherpa Approved as First Fully Integrated Healthcare.gov Private Sector Partner
Move streamlines consumer enrollment and year-round support
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Leading health technology company HealthSherpa announced today the launch of its Healthcare.gov integration, available at HealthSherpa.com. HealthSherpa is the first company approved to utilize the Department of Health and Human Services' innovative new Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) technology, which permits private companies to carry out all enrollment and related activities for on-exchange health coverage.
Previously, consumers had to go through Healthcare.gov to qualify for a subsidy, submit an application, upload important documents, make payments, and review their coverage. Now, they can do all of that seamlessly through HealthSherpa.com. Furthermore, the enrollment experience can be tailored to specific audiences through HealthSherpa's mobile app.
HealthSherpa's deployment of EDE will bring the benefits of seamless shopping, enrollment and plan management to consumers across the HealthSherpa ecosystem. This ecosystem includes HealthSherpa's 30+ employer partners, the 30,000+ agents and brokers that use HealthSherpa, and a dozen insurers and benefits marketplaces that utilize HealthSherpa for enrollment in individual, on-exchange coverage.
It will also help HealthSherpa's nonprofit partners customize the enrollment experience to meet the needs of diverse and underserved communities. "The majority of uninsured Americans who qualify for financial assistance through the Marketplace aren't aware that they are eligible. EDE enables a wide variety of new outreach and engagement strategies to bridge that knowledge gap and help the uninsured get covered," said George Kalogeropoulos, CEO of HealthSherpa. "And once they're enrolled, we can help them better understand, manage and utilize that coverage using EDE."
The launch of EDE represents the culmination of five years of hard work by CMS and the private sector. To gain CMS approval for EDE, HealthSherpa underwent a year-long, rigorous 3rd party audit assessing compliance with nearly 300 separate security and privacy controls. "CMS built a comprehensive regulatory framework to ensure that consumers are as protected when they use EDE as they are on Healthcare.gov," said Kalogeropoulos.
Unique among for-profit enrollment sites, HealthSherpa.com shows all plans available from all insurers on equal footing, and only offers ACA-compliant on-exchange coverage.
"We're thrilled with this new capability, and recognize that with it comes the responsibility to protect consumers and comply with the extensive regulatory framework CMS has established for EDE," continued Kalogeropoulos. "At the end of the day, our mission is to enroll as many people as possible in quality, affordable health coverage and today's announcement is a big step forward."
About HealthSherpa
HealthSherpa only sells ACA marketplace plans, which have built-in consumer protections. Since its founding in 2013, HealthSherpa has enrolled over 1.5 million Americans in Affordable Care Act coverage. For more information, visit http://www.healthsherpa.com.
SOURCE HealthSherpa
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