The National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals is suing the Trump administration over its moratorium on new brokers entering the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

The organization, the leading trade group for insurance brokers and agents, said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' moratorium impacts close to 19,000 brokers and agents who will be barred from registering ahead of open enrollment.

CMS unveiled the moratorium in late September as part of its ongoing push to root out fraud, waste and abuse. In addition, the agency said it would terminate more than 200 agents and brokers that failed to comply with marketplace standards.

The agency said new brokers and agents were disproportionately responsible for submitting inappropriate enrollments and engaging in behaviors at high risk for fraud.

In an announcement (PDF), NABIP says that it supports the broader effort to combat fraud, but that CMS' moratorium "threatens the livelihoods of thousands of legitimate, licensed professionals who have not been accused of fraud and limits consumers’ access to professional assistance as they navigate Open Enrollment."

The organization argues in the lawsuit that the rule instituting the moratorium violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Affordable Care Act. The regulation is unlawful as it is "arbitrary, capricious, and unsupported by sufficient evidence," NABIP said.

The 19,000 agents who would be barred from participating under the rule are part of a critical network of professionals who help consumers find coverage that meets their needs, the organization said.

NABIP President Mychal Walker said that CMS should look elsewhere in its fraud efforts.

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