Applications and premium payments
Items marked Coming soon are being rolled out and will be available soon. See What's new for 2027.
How applications work Coming soon
For ICHRA groups, each employee's chosen plan becomes an application. 2027 applications go to carriers starting in early December. Until then, they wait in the application queue.
Employees don't submit applications themselves. Shopping records the employee's choice, and their application follows it: if they choose another plan before enrollment closes, the application updates and they sign again. Once an employee has signed, a broker sends the application from the queue. Open Applications from the group's menu.
The application queue
The Application queue on the group's Applications page lists every held application and what still stops it, such as not signed yet, no agent NPN, or no way to submit. Counts show how many are ready and how many need attention.
- Submit all ready (brokers) asks you to confirm, then sends each ready application once. Each row shows its result; any that fail stay listed with the reason.
- Sync choices (brokers) brings the queue in line with employees' latest choices.
- Use Deeplink instead (brokers) sends one application through HealthSherpa instead: open it with the employee in Employee View, and they finish and sign there.
- A choice made after an application was submitted is flagged, both to the employee and to you.
Group admins can see the queue, but not submit or sync.
Routes Coming soon
Abra picks how each application is submitted, shown as a badge: Apply in Abra, Finish on HealthSherpa, Enroll on the marketplace, BCBS application, or Quote only. Plans sold only on the exchange aren't queued: the employee enrolls on the marketplace.
Apply in Abra Coming soon
For plans quoted through HealthSherpa, the employee answers the application questions inside Abra on their Review and submit step. Abra checks the answers with HealthSherpa, the employee signs, and the application is then submitted from the queue.
Signing Coming soon
The application card on the employee's Review and submit step shows "Your choice", the plan and when coverage starts, and asks them to confirm and sign. A broker helping in person signs an attestation too. If the employee changes their plan after signing, the old signature no longer counts and they sign the new choice.
Agent of record Coming soon
Abra fills in each application's agent of record and NPN from the group's NPN rules. Before an application goes to a carrier, a broker confirms that NPN, or chooses another for the selected applications: an Agent admin's NPN, the broker's own, or one typed in. Applications can't be submitted until their NPN is confirmed. Each confirmation is recorded in the application's history. Group admins see the agent of record but can't change it; your broker sets it.
Tracking progress Coming soon
Track each application in the group's Applications section, and filter by route or status. Statuses run from Draft and Awaiting signature, through Submitted and Accepted by carrier, to Active coverage. Problems show as Needs correction or Documents needed. Each application shows its coverage start, agent, what it's paid through, and a history of every step.
- Record an update to record a change from the carrier yourself, where the application was submitted by hand.
- Check coverage employees bought outside Abra, and verify or reject it.
First premium Coming soon
The employee's Payment panel shows the monthly premium, what the employer funds, and how to pay the first premium:
- Pay the carrier through HealthSherpa opens the carrier's own payment page.
- Ambient ACH: the employee can show their Ambient account's bank details to type into the carrier's page. They show for one minute at most, and every view is logged.
- Ambient card: card details show only inside Ambient's secure window.
Brokers choose whether the employee sees these payment options; they start hidden. Use Record a payment to record how and when a premium was paid. Updates from HealthSherpa also mark applications paid.
Coming soon When a broker submits from the queue, they can tick Pay premiums from the employee's Ambient account (first month and monthly). Abra then sets the employee's Ambient account as the payment method with the carrier, and each row shows the outcome, such as "Paid from Ambient ••1234", "Carrier payment page" or "Needs payment". Only the last four digits are ever shown or kept. If a carrier needs payment before submission and this isn't ticked, the application waits, with the reason.
Payroll amounts Coming soon
Download a CSV of each employee's monthly premium, employer amount and employee share for payroll. A Tax treatment column shows whether the employee's share is pre-tax or after-tax, following the group's ICHRA tax setting. Exchange plans are always after-tax.
BCBS of South Carolina Coming soon
BCBS of South Carolina applications are sent in BCBS's own enrollment file instead of through HealthSherpa.
- Employees complete their BCBS application details and sign.
- A broker picks the writing agent NPN for the file and runs the check before submission, which lists anything missing.
- The broker downloads the file. Only brokers can download it, and every download is recorded.
Once an applicant saves their application details, exactly what they chose is sent, including their apartment or suite and "mailing address is the home address".
Funding warning Coming soon
If the group's Ambient account may not cover the month's premiums, a yellow warning shows at the top of Applications and on the BCBS file. It never blocks anything. It shows when the Ambient account isn't set up, when the balance is below what's due, or when scheduled funding hasn't arrived yet. See Banking with Ambient.