Which of the following qualifies as minimum essential coverage (MEC) under the Affordable Care Act?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why B is correct
Minimum essential coverage (MEC) is the category of coverage that satisfies the ACA's coverage requirement. It includes employer-sponsored group plans, individual market plans such as Qualified Health Plans purchased through an exchange, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, TRICARE, and other specified government programs. Short-term limited-duration policies, fixed-dollar indemnity policies, and dental-only plans generally are not minimum essential coverage, so they do not satisfy the coverage requirement. Minimum essential coverage defines the set of coverages that satisfy the individual shared responsibility requirement. The statutory list is deliberately broad for comprehensive plans but excludes excepted benefits and limited-duration coverage, which is why short-term and fixed-indemnity products never count as MEC.
Why the other options are wrong
- C) Short-term limited-duration health policies are not minimum essential coverage under the ACA. Short-term limited-duration policies are expressly excluded from minimum essential coverage by federal rules, so they cannot satisfy the coverage requirement.
- D) A fixed-dollar hospital indemnity policy is excepted benefits, not minimum essential coverage. Fixed-dollar hospital indemnity is an excepted benefit and is not treated as minimum essential coverage under the ACA.
- A) A stand-alone dental-only plan generally is not minimum essential coverage. Stand-alone dental-only plans are not MEC; the ACA addresses pediatric dental within the essential health benefit categories but does not make dental-only coverage minimum essential.
Memory hook
MEC = the ACA's approved list: employer plans, exchange QHPs, Medicare, Medicaid, and other government coverage.