(a) General requirement. Before permitting the purchase of coverage in a QHP, the SHOP must determine that the employer or individual who requests coverage is eligible in accordance with the requirements of §155.710.

(b) Applications. The SHOP must accept a SHOP single employer application form from employers and the SHOP single employee application form from employees wishing to elect coverage through the SHOP, in accordance with the relevant standards of §155.730.

(c) Verification of eligibility. For the purpose of verifying employer and employee eligibility, the SHOP—

(1) Must verify that an individual applicant is identified by the employer as an employee to whom the qualified employer has offered coverage and must otherwise accept the information attested to within the application unless the information is inconsistent with the employer-provided information;

(2) May establish, in addition to or in lieu of reliance on the application, additional methods to verify the information provided by the applicant on the applicable application;

(3) Must collect only the minimum information necessary for verification of eligibility in accordance with the eligibility standards described in §155.710; and

(4) May not perform individual market Exchange eligibility determinations or verifications described in subpart D of this part.

(d) Eligibility adjustment period.

(1) When the information submitted on the SHOP single employer application is inconsistent with information collected from third-party data sources through the verification process described in §155.715(c)(2), the SHOP must—

(i) Make a reasonable effort to identify and address the causes of such inconsistency, including through typographical or other clerical errors;

(ii) Notify the employer of the inconsistency;

(iii) Provide the employer with a period of 30 days from the date on which the notice described in paragraph (d)(1)(ii) of this section is sent to the employer to either present satisfactory documentary evidence to support the employer's application, or resolve the inconsistency; and

(iv) If, after the 30-day period described in paragraph (d)(1)(iii) of this section, the SHOP has not received satisfactory documentary evidence, the SHOP must—

(A) Notify the employer of its denial of eligibility in accordance with paragraph (e) of this section and of the employer's right to appeal such determination; and

(B) If the employer was enrolled pending the confirmation or verification of eligibility information, discontinue the employer's participation in the SHOP at the end of the month following the month in which the notice is sent.

(2) When the information submitted on the SHOP single employee application is inconsistent with information collected from third-party data sources through the verification process described in §155.715(c)(2), the SHOP must-

(i) Make a reasonable effort to identify and address the causes of such inconsistency, including through typographical or other clerical errors;

(ii) Notify the individual of the inability to substantiate his or her employee status;

(iii) Provide the employee with a period of 30 days from the date on which the notice described in paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section is sent to the employee to either present satisfactory documentary evidence to support the employee's application, or resolve the inconsistency; and

(iv) If, after the 30-day period described in paragraph (d)(2)(iii) of this section, the SHOP has not received satisfactory documentary evidence, the SHOP must notify the employee of its denial of eligibility in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section.

(e) Notification of employer eligibility. The SHOP must provide an employer requesting eligibility to purchase coverage with a notice of approval or denial of eligibility and the employer's right to appeal such eligibility determination.

(f) Notification of employee eligibility. The SHOP must notify an employee seeking to enroll in a QHP offered through the SHOP of the determination by the SHOP whether the individual is eligible in accordance with §155.710 and the employee's right to appeal such determination.

(g) Notification of employer withdrawal from SHOP. If a qualified employer ceases to purchase coverage through the SHOP, the SHOP must ensure that—

(1) Each QHP terminates the enrollment through the SHOP of the employer's enrollees enrolled in a QHP through the SHOP; and

(2) Each of the employer's qualified employees enrolled in a QHP through the SHOP is notified of the termination of coverage prior to such termination. Such notification must also provide information about other potential sources of coverage, including access to individual market coverage through the Exchange.

(h) Applicability date. The provisions of this section apply for plan years beginning prior to January 1, 2018. Section 155.716 is applicable for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2018.

[77 FR 18464, Mar. 27, 2012, as amended at 79 FR 13839, Mar. 11, 2014; 81 FR 12347, Mar. 8, 2016; 83 FR 17065, Apr. 17, 2018]