What are the essential health benefits? Many Republicans say the essential benefits push up the cost of health insurance and force people to buy health plans with more coverage than they need. For one, consumers could once again find themselves in health plans that do not cover things they did not anticipate they might one day need. Finally, the elimination of essential health benefits threatens other popular consumer protections. The bans on annual and lifetime caps on health coverage, for example, are linked to the mandated benefits.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 23, 2017 20:34 UTC