When can HHS exchange assisters sell door-to-door?

The people who give federal public exchange users in-person assistance can sell exchange plans and services door-to-door, as long as they use a low-key approach.

Officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) talk about the rules that govern exchange assisters’ activities in a recent issue of a newsletter that goes out to exchange navigators and certified application counselors.

The rules apply directly to helpers at the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) exchanges run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — the parent of CMS. The rules may also have some direct or indirect effect on helpers at the state-based exchanges.

HHS exchange assisters cannot just go door-to-door to offer consumers they don’t know help with exchange applications and enrollment, officials say. If consumers ask assisters to come to their homes to help with the exchange application process, assisters can go to those consumers’ homes.