Obama administration efforts to get major health law programs running are drawing praise from an agent group but a cold shoulder from some state regulators.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has said it will ease a Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act public exchange enrollment rule that had caused problems for brokers.
CMS has been letting brokers sell federal exchange plans, but it required middle-income consumers who wanted to get the new PPACA health insurance premium tax credits to apply for coverage through HealthCare.gov.
CMS will now let consumers who enroll through exchange-certified agents and brokers qualify for tax credits, even if the consumers don't apply for coverage through HealthCare.gov.
John Nichols, president of the National Association of Insurance and Advisors, welcomed the change.
"This is an important fix that will allow consumers greater flexibility," Nichols said.
