What services are mandated by the Affordable Care Act?

Asked by: Heaven Lang  |  Last update: May 7, 2025
Score: 4.9/5 (33 votes)

The Affordable Care Act requires non-grandfathered health insurance coverage in the individual and small group markets to cover essential health benefits (EHB), which include items and services in at least the following ten benefit categories: (1) ambulatory patient services; (2) emergency services; (3) hospitalization ...

What is mandated by the Affordable Care Act?

Most coverage must now include Essential Health Benefits (EHBs). No more annual dollar limits on coverage for EHBs. No more lifetime limits on EHBs. Insurance companies have to spend at least 80% of your premium dollars on actual medical expenses, not overhead and profit.

What services are provided by the ACA?

A set of 10 categories of services health insurance plans must cover under the Affordable Care Act. These include doctors' services, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, prescription drug coverage, pregnancy and childbirth, mental health services, and more. Some plans cover more services.

What are 5 mandated benefits under the ACA?

The 10 categories of benefits in an EHB package are: 1) ambulatory patient services, 2) emergency services, 3) hospitalization, 4) maternity and newborn care, 5) mental health and substance use disorder services, 6) prescription drugs, 7) rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices, 8) lab services, 9) ...

What are the 10 essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act?

10 Essential Health Benefits Insurance Plans Must Cover Under the Affordable Care Act
  • Ambulatory patient services (outpatient services)
  • Emergency services.
  • Hospitalization.
  • Maternity and newborn care.
  • Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment.
  • Prescription drugs.

Here's Why the Affordable Care Act Is So Controversial | History

30 related questions found

What coverage is required by the ACA?

The Affordable Care Act requires non-grandfathered health insurance coverage in the individual and small group markets to cover essential health benefits (EHB), which include items and services in at least the following ten benefit categories: (1) ambulatory patient services; (2) emergency services; (3) hospitalization ...

What is the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act?

The individual mandate means that Californians must either have qualifying health insurance, or pay a penalty when filing their state tax return unless they qualify for an exemption. How much? For tax year 2023, the penalty will cost at least $900 per adult and $450 per dependent child under 18 in your household.

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) ...

Which five benefits are mandated by law?

Medicare and social security, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, health insurance, and family and medical leave are all benefits that the federal government requires businesses to provide.

Who is eligible for ACA benefits?

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

What does the ACA not cover?

What Benefits Does the Affordable Care Act Not Cover? The Affordable Care Act does leave two forms of insurance for adults out of its provisions — vision insurance and dental coverage. Although both of these services are considered essential benefits for children under the ACA, they are not included for adults.

How much is Obamacare a month for a single person?

Monthly premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans vary by state and can be reduced by premium tax credits. The average national monthly health insurance cost for one person on an Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan without premium tax credits in 2024 is $477.

What is prohibited by Affordable Care Act?

Section 1557 makes it unlawful for any health care provider who receives funding from the federal government to refuse to treat an individual—or to otherwise discriminate against the individual—based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

Is the ACA mandate still in effect?

While the ACA individual mandate is no longer in effect, certain states apply their own health insurance mandates, some of which have financial penalties.

What does the Affordable Care Act include?

The ACA also prohibits annual and lifetime limits on the dollar amount of coverage and restricts the amount of out-of-pocket costs individuals and families may incur each year for in-network care. Additionally, the law requires most health plans to cover preventive health services with no out-of-pocket costs.

Which benefit is not mandated by federal law?

Employee Benefits Not Required by Law

Non-mandated employee benefits are at the discretion of the employer. These can include benefits such as paid vacation time, contributions to retirement savings plans, education assistance, wellness programs, and childcare assistance.

Which of the following benefits are mandatory?

Common types of mandatory benefits

Social security contributions. Retirement benefits. Unemployment insurance. Medicare.

What benefits are mandated by the federal government?

Federally mandated employee benefits in the U.S. include Social Security and Medicare, Federal Unemployment Insurance, State Unemployment Insurance and Workers' Compensation Insurance.

What is the 13 week rule for ACA?

Classifying Rehires under the ACA

An employee will be considered to be a terminated and rehired employee if the employee has a period of 13 consecutive weeks during which the employee is not credited with an hour of service.

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 are the pros and cons of the Affordable Care Act?

The pros of the ACA include prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage based on health history and providing subsidies to reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The cons of the ACA include small business challenges and limited provider options in some regions.

Who must comply with the Affordable Care Act?

Who must comply with the ACA? The ACA applies to applicable large employers (ALEs), which are businesses that had 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent (FTE) employees on average during the previous year.

What is a lifetime limit?

A cap on the total lifetime benefits you may get from your insurance company.

What is the penalty for not having insurance with Obamacare?

The fee for not having health insurance (sometimes called the "Shared Responsibility Payment" or "mandate”) ended in 2018. This means you no longer pay a tax penalty for not having health coverage. If you don't have health coverage, you don't need an exemption to avoid paying a tax penalty.