15 Fascinating Things You Need to Know About Your Insurance

You could be losing some essential health benefits

This one might be news to you on several levels. Nearly 80 percent of Americans don’t even know the essential health benefits insurers are required to provide by the ACA. That’s according to a 2017 survey conducted by Policygenius. For the record, those benefits are:

• Outpatient services (health care you get without being admitted to a hospital)
• Emergency care
• Hospitalization
• Pregnancy, maternity and newborn care
• Mental health and substance abuse treatment, including counseling and psychotherapy
• Prescription drugs
• Rehabilitative services and devices
• Laboratory services
• Preventive and wellness services
• Pediatric services, include dental and vision care

Don’t get too attached to that benefits list, though. A 523-page rule was approved this year by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to allow states flexibility to select benefits insurers must provide for its residents starting in 2019. Rather than everyone being guaranteed the same 10 benefits, states will be given 50 options from which to pick and choose their own set of essential health benefits.