Most states use the federal Marketplace (HealthCare.gov), but about twenty states and Washington, D.C. run their own State-Based Exchanges (SBEs). If you sell ACA plans in an SBE state, your federal Marketplace (FFM) registration and certification do NOT carry over — you must register and certify separately with each state's exchange before assisting clients there.
Before anything else: what agency name to enter
When you register on any State-Based Exchange, do not list Messer as your agency.
Enter either:
Your own agency name, or
Your first and last name
Do not enter Messer, Messer Financial Group, or any Messer entity name as the agency.
Why this matters: many agents enter Messer as the agency by mistake. When that happens, you can lose visibility of your own Book of Business (BOB), and you may gain access to view other Messer agents and their clients.
This cannot be reversed. Once the agency information has been entered and the account has been established, the change cannot be undone. Enter the correct agency information during registration.
The general registration pattern
Each exchange runs its own process, but nearly all follow the same shape:
Hold an active health insurance license in that state (resident or non-resident), current in NIPR.
Create an agent/broker account on the state exchange's website.
Complete the state's broker certification or training — most exchanges require their own annual certification course, separate from FFM certification and separate from every other state's.
Enter your NPN and agency information — see the warning above.
Maintain carrier appointments for the plans you intend to sell — exchange certification does not replace carrier appointment.
Certification is generally annual and must be current before each Open Enrollment. If you plan to sell in an SBE state, complete that state's registration well before OEP begins.
State-Based Exchange directory
(Verify links are current when publishing; exchange names are stable, web addresses occasionally change.)
State | Exchange | Website |
California | Covered California | |
Colorado | Connect for Health Colorado | |
Connecticut | Access Health CT | |
District of Columbia | DC Health Link | |
Georgia | Georgia Access | |
Idaho | Your Health Idaho | |
Illinois | Get Covered Illinois | |
Kentucky | kynect | |
Maine | CoverME.gov | |
Maryland | Maryland Health Connection | |
Massachusetts | Massachusetts Health Connector | |
Minnesota | MNsure | |
Nevada | Nevada Health Link | |
New Jersey | Get Covered New Jersey | |
New Mexico | beWellnm | |
New York | NY State of Health | |
Pennsylvania | Pennie | |
Rhode Island | HealthSource RI | |
Vermont | Vermont Health Connect | |
Virginia | Virginia's Insurance Marketplace | |
Washington | Washington Healthplanfinder |
All other states use the federal Marketplace — FFM registration through the CMS Enterprise Portal and annual FFM certification cover them.
Quoting State-Based Exchanges in MyMFG
Separately from exchange registration: the only State-Based Exchange state supported for quoting in MyMFG is Georgia (see the Georgia Access article for the full Georgia workflow, including certification sync and RIDP). For other SBE states, quoting and enrollment happen on the state exchange's own platform or the carrier's tools.
Getting help
Registration problems on a state exchange are handled by that exchange's broker support line — each exchange's website lists its contact. For questions about which states you should register in, or anything Messer-side, contact Producer Support.