Understanding Essential Health Benefits: A Comprehensive Guide
The healthcare industry has never been more important in our daily lives than it is right now. With the rising cost of healthcare coupled with changes in insurance policies, understanding essential health benefits is more important than ever before. A comprehensive guide to these benefits will help individuals, families and businesses make the right decisions when it comes to staying healthy. This article will explain everything you need to know about essential health benefits.
What are Essential Health Benefits?
Essential health benefits are services that are required to be covered by non-grandfathered health insurance plans offered in the individual and small group markets. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established ten essential health benefits that all insurance policies must cover. These benefits include:
1. Ambulatory patient services
2. Emergency services
3. Hospitalization
4. Maternity and newborn care
5. Mental health and substance use disorder services
6. Prescription drugs
7. Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
8. Laboratory services
9. Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
10. Pediatric services, including oral and vision care
Why are Essential Health Benefits Important?
Before the ACA was passed, many insurance plans did not cover essential health benefits, leaving individuals and families without critical coverage. This resulted in many people being unable to afford the care they needed, leading to untreated illnesses and medical bankruptcy. By requiring that all health insurance plans cover these benefits, the ACA ensures that no one is left without coverage for basic medical care.
How to Choose the Right Health Plan?
When choosing a health plan, it’s important to consider the essential health benefits that are included in the policy. It’s also important to consider what services you may need in the future, such as maternity care or mental health services. You should also evaluate your own healthcare needs and compare plans. One of the best ways to do this is by using the ACA’s marketplace website where you can compare several health plans side by side.
Conclusion
Understanding essential health benefits is crucial when it comes to choosing the right health plan. The ACA ensures that everyone has access to basic medical coverage, regardless of their income or medical history. Choosing a plan that covers all ten essential health benefits is the best way to ensure that you and your family are covered when you need it most. By using the marketplace website, you can compare plans and find the coverage that’s right for you. Remember, when it comes to your health, a little bit of research can go a long way.
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