Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 1/5
A Qualified Health Plan (QHP) under the ACA is a health plan that:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
A Qualified Health Plan (QHP) is a health plan that is certified by a health insurance exchange, meets the exchange's standards, covers the essential health benefits, and is offered in the individual and small group markets. Certification requires the plan to comply with ACA requirements on benefits, cost-sharing, marketing, and network adequacy. An employer-sponsored plan that does not seek exchange certification is not a QHP in the exchange sense, and plans covering only catastrophic services or sold only to Medicare beneficiaries do not meet the definition.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Employer-sponsored plans are minimum essential coverage but are not exchange-certified QHPs simply because they are employer plans.
- C) Catastrophic plans are a limited category for young adults and hardship cases; they do not meet the full QHP benefit definition.
- D) QHPs are sold in the individual and small group markets, not to Medicare beneficiaries, who use Medicare Advantage instead.
Memory hook
QHP = exchange certified, EHB complete, sold to individuals and small groups.