Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
A qualified health plan (QHP) 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 is a health plan certified by an exchange — in California, Covered California — as meeting the ACA's requirements, including providing essential health benefits, meeting actuarial-value and cost-sharing limits, and being offered by a licensed insurer. Only QHPs may be sold through the exchange, and premium tax credits are available only for QHPs purchased through the exchange. Certification is what makes a plan 'qualified.'
Why the other options are wrong
- B) QHPs are offered by private, licensed insurers that contract with the exchange, not by government agencies.
- C) QHPs must provide the full essential health benefits package, far broader than hospital and surgical care alone.
- D) QHPs are subject to the ACA's annual out-of-pocket cost-sharing limits.
Memory hook
QHP = exchange-certified plan that meets ACA requirements.