Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 1/5
Under the essential health benefits (EHB) framework, dental and vision coverage:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Under the ACA's essential health benefits (EHB) framework, one of the ten required categories is pediatric services, which expressly includes oral and vision care for children. That means non-grandfathered individual and small group plans must provide pediatric dental and vision benefits as part of the children's coverage. For adults, by contrast, dental and vision remain optional coverages that a carrier may offer but is not required to include. This child-mandatory / adult-optional split is exactly what option A states and is a frequently tested EHB rule.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Dental and vision are not mandatory for adults under the EHB framework; the mandate attaches only to pediatric oral and vision benefits within the pediatric services category. Only the pediatric component carries the mandatory requirement, so adult coverage remains elective.
- C) This reverses the rule: pediatric dental and vision are the mandatory component, while adult dental and vision are optional rather than required. Children are the protected group, while adults may be offered dental and vision at the carrier's discretion.
- D) Dental and vision are not excluded by federal law; they are expressly permitted, and at least pediatric dental and vision are required within EHB-compliant plans. Federal law actively requires pediatric oral and vision benefits rather than banning the services.
Memory hook
Kids' teeth and eyes are a must; adults' are a maybe. The EHB mandate stops at age 18.