(a) General requirement. The SHOP must determine whether an employer requesting a determination of eligibility to participate in a SHOP is eligible in accordance with the requirements of § 155.710.

(b) Applications. The SHOP must accept a SHOP single employer application form from employers, in accordance with the relevant standards of § 155.730.

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

(1) 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;

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

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

(d) Eligibility adjustment period. 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 paragraph (c)(1) of this section or otherwise received by the SHOP, the SHOP must—

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

(2) Notify the employer of the inconsistency;

(3) Provide the employer with a period of 30 days from the date on which the notice described in paragraph (d)(2) 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

(4) If, after the 30-day period described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, the SHOP has not received satisfactory documentary evidence, the SHOP must—

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

(ii) 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.

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

(f) Validity of Eligibility Determination. An employer's determination of eligibility to participate in SHOP remains valid until the employer makes a change that could end its eligibility under § 155.710(b) or withdraws from participation in the SHOP.

(g) Applicability date. The provisions of this section apply for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2018.

[83 FR 17065, Apr. 17, 2018]