What are the ACA minimum requirements?

Asked by: Ephraim Hessel  |  Last update: September 14, 2025
Score: 4.8/5 (46 votes)

Under the Affordable Care Act, major medical health insurance plans and qualified health plans (QHPs) must meet Minimum Essential Coverage Standards, which generally means they must: Have an “Actuarial Value” of 60% or more. Cover 10 Essential Health Benefits.

What are the minimum value requirements for ACA?

A health plan meets the minimum value standard if both of these apply:
  • It's designed to pay at least 60% of the total cost of medical services for a standard population.
  • Its benefits include substantial coverage of physician and inpatient hospital services.

What are ACA requirements?

ACA compliance for individual and family coverage involves meeting the standards set by the Health Insurance Marketplace. Plans must cover essential health benefits, offer preventive services at no cost, and cannot deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.

What are the ACA filing requirements?

California employer reporting requirements
  • Organizations who employ California residents must file, regardless of whether the organization is located in or out of state.
  • Employers must report employee insurance information with the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) once per year.

How to determine ACA eligibility?

To be eligible to enroll in health coverage through the Marketplace, you must:
  1. Live in the United States (U.S).
  2. Be a U.S. citizen or national, or be lawfully present non-citizen in the U.S. Learn about eligible immigration statuses.
  3. Not be incarcerated.

ACA 101: A Comprehensive Guide to the Affordable Care Act

17 related questions found

What is minimum essential coverage?

Minimum Essential Coverage is defined as the type of health insurance coverage that you must have in order to comply with the individual mandate set forth by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) . From January 1, 2014, and onward, individuals must have MEC insurance or they will be subject to a tax penalty.

Who is not eligible for Obamacare?

Must live in the United States. Must be a U.S. citizen or national (or be lawfully present). Learn about eligible immigration statuses. Cannot be incarcerated in prison or jail.

What are the rules for ACA affordability?

In 2025, a job-based health plan is considered "affordable" if your share of the monthly premium in the lowest-cost plan offered by the employer is less than 9.02% of your household income.

What disqualifies you from the premium tax credit?

For tax years other than 2021 and 2022, if your household income on your tax return is more than 400 percent of the federal poverty line for your family size, you are not allowed a premium tax credit and will have to repay all of the advance credit payments made on behalf of you and your tax family members.

What makes you ACA eligible?

That means that as long as you are living in the U.S. lawfully and are not incarcerated or covered by Medicare, you can enroll in an ACA insurance plan. Depending on your income and other factors, your plan may not qualify for a premium tax credit or extra savings.

What is the 9.5% rule for ACA?

The federal poverty line safe harbor generally treats coverage as affordable for a month if the employee required contribution for the month does not exceed 9.5 percent, adjusted annually, of the federal poverty line for a single individual for the applicable calendar year, divided by 12.

What are the options for ACA qualified?

Wondering what ACA Careers can offer you? The ACA qualification is a gateway to various prestigious roles in accounting, finance, auditing, and consultancy. In this blog, we'll explore diverse career paths, the valuable skills you'll gain, and how ACA-certified professionals can excel in today's competitive job market.

What is the minimum affordability for the ACA 2024?

On September 6, 2024, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2024-35. It announced that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability threshold is increased from 8.39% for 2024 to 9.02% for 2025.

What is the 80 20 rule for ACA?

The 80/20 Rule generally requires insurance companies to spend at least 80% of the money they take in from premiums on health care costs and quality improvement activities. The other 20% can go to administrative, overhead, and marketing costs.

What is the 50/30 rule in the Affordable Care Act?

The Affordable Care Act's “shared responsibility” provisions (also referred to as the "employer mandate" or "play or pay") generally require that “applicable large employers” or ALEs (those with 50 or more full-time employees working at least 30 hours per week or their equivalents when adding together part-time hours) ...

What is the ACA rule?

Insurance companies have to spend at least 80% of your premium dollars on actual medical expenses, not overhead and profit. Medi-Cal will cover more low-income individuals and families (all individuals under 138% of the federal poverty level are eligible).

What is the ACA 9.5 affordability test?

The ACA defines a plan as being affordable if the lowest-cost, employee-only, MEC, and MV option costs less than 9.5% of the employee's household income. However, the percentage of income for this purpose is adjusted annually for inflation.

What is one requirement of the Affordable Care Act?

The ACA requires all qualified health benefits plans to cover essential health benefits, including those offered through the Marketplaces and those offered in the individual and small group markets off-exchange.

Can you be turned down for Obamacare?

No insurance plan can reject you, charge you more, or refuse to pay for essential health benefits for any condition you had before your coverage started. Once you're enrolled, the plan can't deny you coverage or raise your rates based only on your health.

How can I avoid paying back my premium tax credit?

Report any changes in your income during the year to the Marketplace, so your credit can be adjusted and you can avoid any significant repayments at the end of the year.

What is the minimum premium coverage?

The minimum premium is the lowest premium amount that an insurance company will sell a policy for, in order to cover its costs of covering the policy. In some cases, state laws regulate the minimum premium amount through their department of insurance.

How to calculate the ACA affordability for 2025?

Calculating Affordability Using the FPL Safe Harbor

For most employers, the FPL safe harbor is the easiest to calculate. For 2025 calendar year plans, the FPL safe harbor is satisfied if an employee's required monthly contribution for self-only coverage doesn't exceed 9.02% of the federal poverty line divided by 12.

Can I get Obama Care if I have Medicaid?

A Marketplace health plan would cost more than Medicaid and usually wouldn't offer more coverage or benefits. If you qualify for Medicaid, you aren't eligible for savings on a Marketplace plan. You'd have to pay full price for a plan.