federally facilitated marketplace federally facilitated marketplace the federally facilitated marketplace (ffm) is an organized marketplace for health insurance plans operated by the u.s. department of health and human services (hhs). the ffm opened for enrollments starting october 1, 2013. the federally facilitated marketplace is established in a state by the hhs secretary for states that chose not to set up their own marketplace or did not get approval for one. individuals (i.e. citizens of a state) and employers will have the ability to find and purchase qualified health plans through the ffm and its partners. individuals will be able to qualify for and receive advance premium tax credits (aptc) which can be used to subsidize their premium obligations. individuals can also qualify for cost sharing reductions (csrs) which would reduce their out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare. participating states twenty-seven states opted to participate in the ffm. seven states opted to partner with the ffm. seventeen states opted to set up their own state based marketplace (sbm). federally facilitated marketplaces the following 27 states are federally facilitated marketplaces: alabama alaska arizona georgia indiana kansas louisiana maine mississippi missouri montana nebraska north carolina north dakota ohio oklahoma south carolina south dakota tennessee texas utah virginia wisconsin wyoming partnership marketplaces the following 7 states are partnership marketplaces. in partnership marketplaces, states retain certain essential functionality for operating an insurance marketplace. arkansas delaware illinois iowa michigan new hampshire west virginia