Request for Information; Comprehensive Review of the Essential Health Benefits Framework and Typical Employer Plan Standard

What it does

This request for information (RFI) seeks public input to support CMS' comprehensive review of the Essential Health Benefits (EHB) framework and the requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) that the scope of EHB be equal to the scope of benefits provided under a typical employer plan. CMS seeks comment on current interpretations of EHB, State approaches to selecting and updating EHB-benchmark plans, and methodologies used to determine the scope of benefits included as EHB, as well as how these approaches relate to access and market stability under the Affordable Care Act. CMS also seeks comment on variation across States in the scope of benefits included as EHB, cost pressures affecting EHB, processes for updating State EHB-benchmark plans, limitations in available data used to evaluate EHB, and potential impacts of possible future policy changes. The information gathered will inform CMS' evaluation of whether revisions or additions to the current EHB regulations through future notice and comment rulemaking may be appropriate.

The Health and Human Services Department's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What it would change

1 part of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

45 CFR 156

Before this

No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 0938-AW02 since Jan. 1, 2025.

What happens next and when

To be assured consideration, comments must be received at one of the addresses provided below, by July 15, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket CMS-2026-2081 on Regulations.gov
• Title 45 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register