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Broker Renewal Process
Broker Renewal Process

2024 Broker ICHRA renewal process for existing clients

Updated over a week ago

Renewal Process for Brokers:

  1. Let your CSM know about your group's intent to renew – or let your Customer Success Manager know of any groups who will not renew their ICHRA benefit for 2024. (An Employer termination process will need to be followed).

  2. Have Employer send out ICHRA Offer of Coverage (aka 90-day notice) to all benefit eligible employees – ICHRA Offer of Coverage - use for National Open Enrollment only

  3. Client will insert their logo (or print on company letterhead), add current date, and add the company contact on Page 6 of the ICHRA Offer of Coverage letter.

  4. Instruct your client to download their current Census in benefitbay® and update the annual salary or hourly rate, make any demographic changes and add any new benefit-eligible employees (if applicable).  Clients will go to their Employer Dashboard in benefitbay® and click the “Download Census” button in the Employee Management section. Ask your client to update the annual salary (or new hourly rate) using the benefitbay® census format.  Add any employees who will be eligible for January 1st. Do NOT remove any columns. Note: Terminated individuals should not be included in the census.

5. Request your client updated their census by 10/27, or as soon as possible. Updating the census ensures the plan is compliant with new 2024 affordability rates.

6. Ask your client to upload their revised census or send it to you securely for upload. Once you receive the updated census you can send it securely to your CSM to upload and review, OR if you upload it yourself please communicate this to your CSM. Note: New hires or changes can be made once the census has been uploaded.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT delete the employee's benefitbay® ID#. New employees will not have a benefitbay® ID#. The system will assign new employees their benefitbay® ID# when the census upload has been completed.

7. Once the revised census has been uploaded reach out to your CSM. A new Coverage Period for 2024 will be created by clicking on “Add Coverage Period”. Your CSM will work with you to establish the dates of open enrollment and funding needed. In order to pull in the 2024 rates the system will automatically "Update Benchmark plans" within the ICHRA Modeling Tool.

8. Add your 2024 PEPM (Per Employee Per Month) amount/broker consulting fee to the new enrollment period. (Include any other vendors you pay for services such as Freshbenies, Medicare enrollment, or enrollment partner).

9. If applicable, add in new classes, or adjust the current classing structure. Work with your CSM to model, or contact your CSM with any modeling questions.

10. Finalize 2024 Employer ICHRA contributions with your client.

11. Lock in the 2024 Open Enrollment model.

12. Your Employer’s primary Business Contact will need to sign the 2024 ICHRA agreement. When the broker locks the contribution, the ICHRA Agreement pops up. Note: Tell your Employer Business Contact to log in and click "Sign ICHRA Agreement" (see screenshot #9 above).

13. All employees must elect their 2024 ICHRA contribution, or waive. If they do not take any action, but have a current policy, their insurance carrier will automatically renew them for the new plan year and their new monthly premium will need to be updated in the system. If they do not currently have coverage and take no action their status will change to "Waived by Omission" once open enrollment is closed.

14. To allow for open enrollment changes (new hires applying for the first time and employees changing to a new carrier), funds will need to be transferred into your client’s ARC (Advanced Reimbursement Checking) account prior to the start of their 2024 open enrollment.  benefitbay® will provide you with a funding recommendation via email.

15. Broker schedules the emails to be sent to employees for the day open enrollment begins. "Schedule Email Notice" is found under "Details" in the Employer’s Dashboard in the Coverage Period section. Employees may be required to reset their password if it has expired.

16. All benefit-eligible employees will receive their email (unless enrolled by the broker) and are required to log into app.benefitbay.com and complete enrollment, or waive coverage.

17. IMPORTANT: Employees will be responsible for termination with their current carrier IF they are enrolling in a plan with a new carrier for 2024. Employees may use this TERMINATION TEMPLATE or call their carrier to notify they are ending their plan on 12/31/23. Employee will be responsible for providing their carrier with notice of their 2023 plan cancellation by 12/1, but no later than 12/31. Carriers DO not terminate individual policies on a retroactive basis.

18. All new enrollments or plan changes for 1/1/23 must be submitted no later than 12/15/23.

This is intended to be an overview of the process.  benefitbay® will work with you every step of the way to have a successful renewal season!

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