Under the essential health benefits (EHB) rules, adult dental and vision coverage is generally:

Why A is correct

Under the essential health benefits rules, it is only limited pediatric dental and vision coverage that is mandated as part of the EHB package. Adult dental and vision benefits are not mandatory: a carrier may offer them, often as optional riders or add-on products, but no qualified health plan is required to include them for adults. The mandatory-versus-optional split between pediatric and adult dental/vision is a specific A&H exam point. The exam tests this pediatric-versus-adult split directly, so the distinction matters.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) The mandatory requirement covers limited pediatric dental and vision for children; adult dental and vision are not required to be included. Pediatric dental and vision are the only mandated items.
• C) Adult dental and vision benefits may be offered as optional coverage; nothing in the rules prohibits a plan from including them. Including them for adults is always permitted, never prohibited.
• D) There is no age-based mandate for adult dental or vision coverage; the requirement turns on pediatric status, not a specific adult age. The mandate is keyed to childhood, not to a senior age.

Memory hook

Kids' teeth and eyes are mandated; adults' are menu items. Pediatric is in the essentials, adult is the optional extra.

Why A is correct

The PPACA essential health benefit package mandates only limited pediatric dental and vision coverage as part of the ten EHB categories. Adult dental and adult vision care, by contrast, remain optional in the individual market — insurers may offer them by rider, by separate policy, or as part of a broader plan design, but the law does not require them. This adult-versus-pediatric contrast is the exam point: children's basic dental and vision ride inside the mandatory EHB package, while adults' dental and vision are elective add-ons that vary by product and price. Recognizing which side of that line a benefit falls on is central to EHB questions.

Why the other options are wrong

• B) Only limited pediatric dental and vision are mandatory EHBs; adult dental and vision are not part of the mandated benefit package, so this answer attaches the pediatric rule to the wrong population.
• C) States do not prohibit adult dental and vision coverage; the products are lawful and widely sold but simply optional, so this answer invents a ban that does not exist.
• D) Adult dental and vision are also offered in the individual market, so restricting them to employer-sponsored group plans is incorrect and ignores the individual market's optional-rider availability.

Memory hook

Adult teeth and eyes are optional riders; kids' teeth and eyes ride in the mandatory EHB car.