What defines a qualified health plan?

A qualified health plan is defined as a health insurance plan that meets the requirements established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This legislation set forth specific criteria that plans must adhere to in order to be considered qualified, including offering essential health benefits, prohibiting lifetime and annual limits on coverage, and ensuring that individuals with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage or charged higher premiums.

Qualified health plans must also provide a range of services such as hospitalization, prescription drugs, and preventative care, thus ensuring that individuals have access to comprehensive healthcare services. They are typically sold through health insurance marketplaces and provide a variety of coverage levels to meet different needs and financial situations.

The other options do not capture the essence of what constitutes a qualified health plan under the ACA. While affordability and coverage extent are important aspects of health insurance, they do not adequately define a qualified health plan as per the legal standards outlined by the ACA.