Last Wednesday, the Obama Administration formally delayed the online enrollment function of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) for Federally-Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) states.

In the Thanksgiving eve announcement, the Administration stated that small businesses can still enroll in SHOP plans next year, but will need to do so directly through an agent, broker or insurer and not through www.healthcare.gov.

Administration officials will explain the new application and enrollment method to Big “I” members in a webinar next Tuesday, Dec. 10 at noon ET. To sign up for the webinar, visit www.regtap.net and search for the event “SHOP Overview for Agents and Brokers” under the Training Events icon. Use these instructions if you need help creating a REGTAP login. Be sure to sign up as soon as possible as space is limited, and be aware that REGTAP closes registration for webinars 24 hours ahead of time.

As in the past, Administration officials will hold a presentation before engaging in a Q&A session. No additional webinars have been scheduled yet, but the presentation slides will be posted afterward on the REGTAP website.

Ryan Young is Big “I” senior director of federal government affairs.