NABIP comments to CMS on proposed 2027 ACA marketplace rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals  recently submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the proposed
2027 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters, which sets policy for the Affordable Care Act
Marketplace.

Representing more than 100,000 licensed health insurance agents, brokers, consultants, and employee benefits specialists nationwide, NABIP emphasized the importance of maintaining marketplace stability, protecting consumers, and ensuring that regulatory changes support the professionals who assist millions of Americans with health coverage each year.

NABIP’s comments emphasize that marketplace agents are essential to enrollment accuracy, consumer protection, and program integrity, and that several CMS proposals for 2027 risk undermining the agent role, increasing compliance exposure, and confusing consumers if finalized without changes. NABIP urges CMS to preserve agent compensation protections, avoid over‑restrictive marketing rules, maintain consumer choice in plan design, and ensure enhanced direct enrollment and eligibility verification changes do not bypass or marginalize licensed agents.

NABIP defended the role of licensed agents and brokers in ACA enrollment, arguing they reduce improper enrollments, help consumers understand complex plan designs, and improve retention and appropriate plan selection

NABIP warned CMS against policies that implicitly favor direct enrollment, automated enrollment or platform‑driven processes without sufficient human oversight, noting that these approaches can increase consumer errors and post‑enrollment disputes.

The association raised concerns that expansion or restructuring of EDE pathways may allow enrollment flows that minimize or obscure agent involvement, create uneven compliance standards between agents and web‑brokers, and increase the risk of unauthorized enrollments or misleading marketing.

NABIP urged CMS to ensure that any EDE or platform‑based enrollment model preserves clear agent attribution, consent, and compensation protections. Without these safeguards, agents may lose visibility into enrollments they assisted with or be excluded entirely from transactions they initiated.

The association supports reasonable enforcement against bad actors, but cautioned CMS against policies that treat agents as presumptively suspect instead of trusted professionals. NABIP also cauioned against overly broad or vague “standards of conduct” and enforcement mechanisms that bypass due process.

NABIP emphasized that most agents act ethically and that enforcement should be targeted, evidence‑based and transparent - not punitive or retroactive.

CMS proposes eliminating standardized plan options starting in 2027. NABIP expressed concern that this would increase consumer confusion, make plan comparisons more difficult during the open enrollment period and place additional burden on agents to explain increasingly complex benefit designs.

NABIP argued that standardized plans are a useful tool for agents, especially when working with first‑time enrollees or subsidy‑eligible consumers.

The association acknowledged the need to reduce improper enrollments but cautions that overly aggressive SEP verification and income documentation rules could delay coverage for eligible consumers, increase administrative work for agents and discourage consumers from seeking professional help

NABIP urged CMS to ensure that agents are not held responsible for documentation delays or system errors beyond their control.

Although the 2027 NBPP does not directly set commissions, NABIP reiterated its long‑standing position that CMS should prohibit issuer practices that indirectly suppress agent compensation, agents should not be excluded from certain plan types or enrollment channels and compensation parity between on‑ and off‑Marketplace plans should be preserved

NABIP said it views compensation stability as essential to maintaining consumer access to professional guidance, especially for complex subsidy‑driven coverage.

“NABIP members work directly with consumers navigating the complexities of health coverage every day,” said Michael Andel, Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs at NABIP. “Our
recommendations aim to strengthen Marketplace integrity while ensuring that regulatory changes support consumer access to trusted professional guidance.”

NABIP’s full comment letter on the 2027 ACA Marketplace Proposed Rule is available here:
Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP).