Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 1/5
Which of the following counts as minimum essential coverage (MEC) under the ACA?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why B is correct
Minimum essential coverage (MEC) is coverage that satisfies the ACA's coverage requirement. MEC includes Medicare (including Medicare Advantage), Medicaid and CHIP, employer-sponsored group plans, individual market plans including marketplace plans, and government programs such as TRICARE and veterans' coverage. Enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan therefore counts as MEC. Limited-benefit products such as accident-only or critical illness policies do not qualify as MEC.
Why the other options are wrong
- A) A discount health plan is not insurance and does not provide coverage that satisfies the ACA requirement.
- C) Accident-only policies are limited supplemental products, not minimum essential coverage.
- D) Critical illness policies pay a lump sum for specified diseases and do not qualify as minimum essential coverage.
Memory hook
MEC = real coverage that counts: Medicare, Medicaid, employer plans, marketplace plans. Discounts and accident-only don't.