There is important protocol that ARC staff must adhere to when an assister contacts the ARC. These processes are in place protect the privacy of consumers and to safeguard assisters from potential privacy-related incidents.

The following is a list of situations in which a consumer is required to be present on the phone or in person at the beginning of a call. Please do not attempt to add the consumer to the call after the call has started. They must be present at the onset of the call.

• Retrieving a username. ARC staff cannot confirm that a username is associated with a consumer unless they are present. This also applies to checking the status of manual account requests.
• Enrolling or terminating a QHP plan
• Attesting to a qualifying life event (QLE) for special enrollment period (SEP)
• Completing life event changes (LECs) that must be reported over the phone
• Requesting that a case with an active determination to be closed (ARC can never close cases where there is an active public program eligibility. These requests must be directed to the servicing agency)

The following are instances where information cannot be shared, even when a consumer is present.

• An assister calls the ARC with a consumer who is not associated with the case. For example, an assister and the mother of an adult child, who is not listed on the case, call to ask about the adult child’s case. 
• An assister calls the ARC about a child and the parent who is present in the assister’s office is not on the case.
• An assister calls the ARC about a case that is in a protected status such as Safe at Home or foster care.

It is important to confirm the consumer’s personal identifying information before contacting the ARC, as they will ask for the identifiers of the person present. Calling the ARC with a consumer and providing identifying information of an unrelated person could cause a privacy breach that must be reported. Therefore, it is essential to provide the ARC with accurate information about the person that is with you on the call, which is why we ask for this information on every call.