1. Outpatient Care
Outpatient Care refers to medical services that do not require an overnight stay. Outpatient Care is performed in qualified medical facilities like ambulatory surgery centers — usually not in hospitals. Critical outpatient services include Wellness and prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Typically, all services provided occur in one location, and you are not admitted.

2. Emergency Care
There is no penalty for seeking emergency care at an out-of-network hospital — meaning you can receive care at the closest facility without fear of denied coverage.

3. Hospital Stays
Unexpected hospital stays do not jeopardize the value of your benefits moving forward. This is because health plans in the Marketplace can no longer put dollar limits on how much they’ll spend each year or over your lifetime to cover essential health benefits.

4. Mental Health Coverage
For people affected by mental illness, having adequate mental health coverage for things like therapy and medication is vital to their overall wellbeing. And because we all have stressors in life and experience things that can sometimes leave us feeling hopeless, anyone covered under a major health plan will have coverage for mental health services.

5. Prescription Drug Coveragev Almost everyone will take a prescription drug at some point in their life. Whether it’s for a chronic medical condition or a seasonal bout with strep throat, prescription drugs are a standard part of medical treatment plans. Under Obamacare (or the ACA), you have the assurance that prescription drug coverage is a required benefit should you need to go to the pharmacy.

6. Rehab Services
Recovering from a car accident can mean not only a night in the hospital but months of physical therapy. Because most injuries heal with time and effort, major medical insurance plans are required to cover rehab services, giving you the freedom to achieve full wellness again.

7. Lab Services
Doctors often use lab services to diagnose medical conditions and determine the right treatment plan. Laboratory services include preventive screenings and are used to gauge the effectiveness of treatments. Major insurance plans are required to cover laboratory services. However, regular copays and deductibles may apply if your laboratory services aren’t used to diagnose an illness or for preventive screenings.

8. Free Preventive Care
Monitoring your health is essential to your wellbeing because you’ll never know you are at risk unless you take steps to check for warning signs. Take advantage of covered preventive care services to help you find those warning signs and kickstart any necessary treatment plans.

9. Maternity and Newborn Care
Healthcare reform aims to make maternity and newborn care more accessible to those covered under major medical plans.

10. Pediatric Care
The ACA makes pediatric care an essential health benefit to all qualifying plans and includes vision and dental coverage to protect your child’s total wellbeing.

This article is for information only and should not be considered a recommendation. Talk with a licensed Health Insurance Professional about your specific circumstances. For more information you can go to The Texas Department of Insurance.