A hospital corridor. Photo: Renata Rafa/Pexels; cropped.
A federal judge in Maryland has paused a federal moratorium on new Affordable Care Act insurance-agent and broker registrations, ordering the government to make training available by the close of November 6 while the legal challenge continues.
The November 5 order by U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher gives preliminary relief to the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals and Health Agents for America. It is not a final ruling on their lawsuits and does not establish that registration or training has already reopened.
What the court ordered
The signed order, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, stays the interim final rule and its moratorium on new agent and broker registrations for federally facilitated exchanges for the 2027 plan year, pending final resolution by the court.
Gallagher treated the groups’ requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction as requests for a stay under the Administrative Procedure Act. She granted relief in part on their claim under Section 553, which governs federal rulemaking procedures.
The court found the groups were likely to succeed on that claim, that their members were likely to suffer irreparable harm without preliminary relief, and that the balance of equities and public interest favored relief. Those findings support the temporary court action; they are not a final judgment resolving every claim.
The order directs the government to make 2027 training for new agents and brokers available by the close of the next business day, Friday, November 6. It also requires a compliance status report within seven days and a proposed schedule for the cases’ next steps by November 12.
Who the registration pause affected
CMS introduced the moratorium in September as part of its effort to combat improper enrollments and strengthen marketplace safeguards. The agency said a temporary pause would allow it to improve identity verification, authentication and monitoring before new agents and brokers entered the system, InsuranceNewsNet reported.
The pause barred agents and brokers who had not obtained an exchange registration for the 2026 plan year from registering for 2027, according to that report. It concerned participation by those professionals in the federal marketplace, rather than a blanket shutdown of consumers’ ability to enroll in coverage.
NABIP estimated that close to 19,000 agents and brokers were affected, Fierce Healthcare reported. That is an industry group’s estimate, not a count established in the court’s order.
Training is the next step, not a completed reopening
NABIP said training would restart November 6, according to Fierce Healthcare. The court’s deadline makes the next operational step clear, but neither the order nor the group’s statement proves that a new agent can already complete the process.
For licensed professionals affected by the pause, the ruling clears a legal obstacle to completing the training and registration needed to assist people shopping for 2027 marketplace coverage. For consumers, it may expand the pool of available help once those steps are actually completed.
The underlying challenge remains before the court. The ruling does not determine what coverage any individual will qualify for, change a plan’s terms or establish a new insurance price.
JBizNews Desk | Baltimore
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