Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
Which of the following is generally NOT considered minimum essential coverage (MEC) under the ACA?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Minimum essential coverage (MEC) is coverage that satisfies the ACA's individual coverage requirement, including employer-sponsored plans, individual-market QHPs, Medicare, Medicaid/Medi-Cal, CHIP, COBRA continuation, and TRICARE. Limited-benefit products such as accident-only, specified-disease, and hospital-indemnity policies do not count as MEC because they do not provide comprehensive coverage. The exam tests which arrangements count and which do not.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Employer-sponsored group health coverage is expressly included in the definition of minimum essential coverage.
- C) Individual-market Qualified Health Plans purchased through an exchange satisfy the minimum essential coverage definition, along with employer plans and government programs.
- D) Medicare Part A is MEC, as are Medicare Advantage and most Part D plans.
Memory hook
MEC = the coverage checklist that counts. Accident-only and mini-meds are window dressing, not MEC.