As part of any application process within HCR individuals are first required to create a citizen account. This is the same when applying for insurance affordability assistance, applying to use the exchange to purchase a QHP (commonly known as Straight to Shop), applying for employer-sponsored coverage, or when applying for an exemption from the individual mandate. When creating an account, citizens register by providing key details about themselves which are necessary to access the citizen's account in the future. Having selected to start an application process, the individual is required to either log in to an existing account or create a new one. Once this is successful, they are taken to the first page of the application script, where they can begin to fill out the information required for the application.
Authenticated individuals can save and exit an in-progress application. Saved applications can be resumed for completion at a later date. Once completed and submitted, an individual can log in to their account to check the status of their application(s).
Agencies may have various security processes to validate that a citizen account user is the same person that is registered on the system. HCR supports this by allowing agencies to link citizen accounts to participants registered on their system. This allows the agency to maintain information about the individual relating to their applications as participant evidence in an integrated case. It also means that the individual can record changes in circumstances (or life events) which may affect their eligibility for ongoing and future applications and have these changes propagated onto their case evidence records.