Essential Health Benefits, Explained

Just so we’re all clear on what Republicans are talking about taking away from the American people in order to buy more votes, see below for a handy Twitter post from NPR. We’re not just talking about maternity care and mental health services, the list of “essential health benefits” also includes very basic benefits like doctor visits, hospitalization, emergency services, prescription drugs, and more. And the effect would be that Americans with pre-existing conditions would not actually be able to purchase plans that cover the benefits they need. NPR explains:

“That's a list of 10 general categories of medical care that all insurance policies are required to cover under the Affordable Care Act.”

“But if Republicans repeal that list, they essentially renege on a promise they've repeated over and over to voters, that they will protect people with pre-existing medical conditions.”

“‘Protections for pre-existing conditions only work as long as plans have to cover the services you need because of your pre-existing condition,’ says Rodney Whitlock, a vice president at the consulting group ML Strategies who was a Republican staffer on the Senate Finance Committee when the Affordable Care Act was passed. ‘By repealing [essential health benefits], a plan may no longer have to cover those services, making the protection potentially meaningless.’”