Executive Summary
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established a comprehensive set of ten Essential Health Benefits (EHB) that most health plans must cover. However, regulations allowing states to define EHB through a benchmarking process have lead to inconsistent and inadequate coverage. In this letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, NHeLP urges HHS to use its authority under the ACA to establish robust national standards for EHB. NHeLP also urges HHS to review and update the ten EHB categories, as required by the ACA, using an open, transparent, and data-driven process. By using its regulatory authority to improve and expand EHB, HHS can advance health equity by closing coverage gaps and help ensure that people get the health care they need.
