Am I required to have an MEC insurance plan?

Before you choose an insurance plan, you should know whether or not ACA requirements apply to you. The Individual Mandate to obtain health care that meets Minimum Essential Cover (MEC) standards applies to:

US citizens
Legal US residents
Resident aliens
Non-resident aliens required to file a US tax return

Unless they meet an existing exemption:

They are a bona fide foreign resident*
They are out of the US for 330 days in a tax year
They hold a certain diplomatic visa (A & G)
They hold certain student visas
They meet hardship exemptions

How these categories apply to you can determine whether or not you must consider obtaining an MEC compliant insurance plan.

* For a determination of a bona fide resident, please see the Bona Fide Residence Test on the IRS website.

Who will need to secure MEC?

This table outlines who is eligible for our MEC plans and who is not:

Eligible Customers
Outbound US Nationals residing outside of the US		Inbound Non-US Nationals residing in the US under an eligible visa or green card. Note: See our non-US national requirements section below for more information.)
Ineligible Customers
US Nationals residing in the US (including the following US territories: Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands)		Non-US Nationals not residing in the US.

There may be further conditions that apply to specific plans, so please visit our Insurance Solutions page, or fill out the form at the bottom of the page to find out more.

Non US-national requirements

If you are an inbound non-US national, then the following important points may apply:

Eligible green card or visa requirements

The policyholder and each beneficiary must have an eligible green card or visa from the following lists:

The green card or visa must also be valid throughout the period of cover.

Eligible Green Card Category List

If your Green Card is on the list below, you are required to secure MEC.

Category code	Description	Eligibility
E10	Child of a priority worker classified as E11, E16, E12, E17, E13, or E18.	10 years
E11	Priority worker -alien with extraordinary ability.	10 years
E12	Priority worker -outstanding professor or researcher.	10 years
E13	Priority worker -certain multinational executive or manager.	10 years
E14	Spouse of a priority worker	10 years
E15	Child of a priority worker classified as E11, E16, E12, E17, E13, or E18.	10 years
E16	Priority worker -alien with extraordinary ability.	10 years
E17	Priority worker -outstanding professor or researcher.	10 years
E18	Priority worker -certain multinational executive or manager.	10 years
E19	Spouse of a priority worker	10 years
E21	Professional holding an advanced degree or of exceptional ability.	10 years
E22	Spouse of an alien classified as E21 or E26.	10 years
E23 E28	Child of an alien classified as E21 or E26.	10 years
E26	Professional holding an advanced degree or of exceptional ability.	10 years
E27	Spouse of an alien classified as E21 or E26.	10 years
E30	Child of a skilled worker or professional classified as E31, E36, E32, or E37.	10 years
E31	Alien who is a skilled worker.	10 years
E32	Professional who holds a baccalaureate degree or who is a member of a profession.	10 years
E34	Spouse of a skilled worker or professional classified as E31, E36, E32, or E37.	10 years
E35	Child of a skilled worker or professional classified as E31, E36, E32, or E37.	10 years
E36	Alien who is a skilled worker.	10 years
E37	Professional who holds a baccalaureate degree or who is a member of a profession.	10 years
E39	Spouse of a skilled worker or professional classified as E31, E36, E32, or E37.	10 years
ES1	Soviet scientist, principal.	10 years
ES6	Soviet scientist, principal.	10 years
EW3	Other worker performing unskilled labor, not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the country-region place (United States.)	10 years
EW8	Other worker performing unskilled labor, not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the country-region place (United States.)	10 years
HK1	Employees of certain U.S. businesses operating in place - Hong Kong.	10 years
HK2	Spouse of an alien classified as HK1 or HK6.	10 years
HK3 HK8	Child of an alien classified as HK1 or HK6.	10 years
HK6	Employees of certain U.S. businesses operating in place - HongKong.	10 years
HK7	Spouse of an alien classified as HK1 or HK6.	10 years
RN6	Certain former H1 nonimmigrant registered nurses.	10 years
RN7	Accompanying spouse or child of an alien classified as RN6.	10 years
SD1 SD6	Minister of religion.	10 years
SD2 SD7	Spouse of an alien classified as SD1 or SD6.	10 years
SD3 SD8	Child of an alien classified as SD1 or SD6.	10 years
SE1 SE6	Certain employees or former employees of the country-regionplaceU.S. government abroad.	10 years
SE2 SE7	Accompanying spouse of an alien classified as SE1 or SE6.	10 years
SE3 SE8	Accompanying child of an alien classified as SE1 or SE6.	10 years
SEH SEK	Employee of U.S. Mission in place - HongKong (limit of 500 and these persons are admitted exempt from the country limitation)	10 years
SF1 SF6	Certain former employees of the Panama Canal Company or Canal Zone Government. (See SF1 in section X-IMM.)	10 years
SF2 SF7	Accompanying spouse or child of an alien classified as SF1 or SF6.	10 years
SG1 SG6	Certain former employees of the U.S. Government in the place - Panama Canal Zone.	10 years
SG2 SG7	Accompanying spouse or child of an alien classified as SG1 or SG6.	10 years
SH1 SH6	Certain former employees of the Panama Canal Company or Canal Zone Government employed on Apr. 1, 1979.	10 years
SH2 SH7	Accompanying spouse or child of an alien classified as SH1 or SH6.	10 years
SJ2	Spouse or child of an alien classified as SJ6.on Jan. 9, 1978.	10 years
SJ6	Foreign medical school graduate who was licensed to practice in the country-region, or place in the UnitedStates	10 years
SJ7	Spouse or child of an alien classified as SJ6.on Jan. 9, 1978.	10 years
SR1 SR6	Religious worker.
SR2 SR7	Spouse of an alien classified as SR1 or SR6	10 years
SR3 SR8	Child of an alien classified as SR1 or SR6.	10 years
XE3	Child born subsequent to the issuance of a visa. Parent is employment-based preference immigrant.	10 years
W16	Alien previously granted temporary resident status (legalization) who illegally entered the country-region-place of the United States without inspection prior to Jan.1, 1982.	10 years
W26	Alien previously granted temporary resident status (legalization) who entered the country-region-place of the UnitedStates as a non-immigrant and overstayed visa prior to Jan. 1, 1982.	10 years
W36	Alien previously granted temporary resident status (legalization) from a country granted blanket extended	10 years
XB3	Alien who is presumed to have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence.	10 years
E51	Employment creation immigrant.	10 years
E52	Spouse of an alien classified as E51 or E56.	10 years
E53	Child of an alien classified as E51 or E56.	10 years
E56	Employment creation immigrant.	10 years
E57	Spouse of an alien classified as E51 or E56.	10 years
E58	Child of an alien classified as E51 or E56.	10 years
I51	Investor pilot program targeted, principal -conditional	10 years
I52	Investor pilot program targeted, spouse -conditional	10 years
I53	Investor pilot program targeted, child -conditional	10 years
I56	Investor Pilot program targeted, principal -conditional.	10 years
I57	Investor Pilot program targeted, spouse -conditional.	10 years
I58	Investor Pilot program targeted, child -conditional.	10 years
NP8	Alien who filed and was qualified with investor status prior to June 1, 1978.	10 years
NP9	Spouse or child of an alien classified as NP8.	10 years
R51	Investor Pilot Program not targeted, principal -conditional	10 years
R52	Investor Pilot Program not targeted, spouse -conditional	10 years
R53	Investor Pilot Program not targeted, child -conditional	10 years
R56	Investor Pilot Program not targeted, principal -conditional.	10 years
R57	Investor Pilot Program not targeted, spouse –conditional	10 years
R58	Investor Pilot Program not targeted, child –conditional	10 years
T51 T56	Employment creation immigrant (targeted area) -conditional.	10 years
T52 T57	Spouse of an alien classified as T51 or T56 (targeted area) -conditional.	10 years
T53 T58	Child of an alien classified as T51 or T56 (targeted area) -conditional.	10 years
DV1	Diversity immigrant.	10 years
DV2	Spouse of an alien classified as DV1 or DV6.	10 years
DV3	Child of an alien classified as DV1 or DV6.	10 years
DV6	Diversity immigrant.	10 years
DV7	Spouse of an alien classified as DV1 or DV6.	10 years
DV8	Child of an alien classified as DV1 or DV6.	10 years
SC1 SC6	Person who lost country-region-place of the U.S. citizenship through marriage.	10 years
SC2 SC7	Person who lost country-region-place of the U.S. citizenship by serving in foreign armed forces.	10 years
F21	Spouse of US permanent resident	10 years
F22	Child (unmarried and under 21) of US permanent resident	10 years
F23	Child of F21 or F22 (accompanying parent)	10 years
F24	Unmarried son/daughter (21 and over) of permanent resident	10 years
F26	Spouse of permanent resident (obtained permanent residence in the US and not through the consulate)	10 years
F27	Unmarried son/daughter (21 and over) of permanent resident (obtained permanent residence in the US and not through the consulate)	10 years
F28	Child of an alien classified as F21 or F26 (subject to country limitations).	10 years
F29	Unmarried son or daughter (21 years of age or older) of a lawful permanent resident alien (subject to country limitations).	10 years
FX1	Spouse of a lawful permanent resident alien (exempt from country limitations).	10 years
FX6	Spouse of a lawful permanent resident alien (exempt from country limitations).	10 years
FX2	Child (under 21 years of age) of a lawful permanent resident alien (exempt from country limitations).	10 years
FX7	Child (under 21 years of age) of a lawful permanent resident alien (exempt from country limitations).	10 years
FX3	Child of an alien classified as FX1, FX2, FX7, or FX8 (exempt from country limitations)	10 years
FX8	Child of an alien classified as FX1, FX2, FX7, or FX8 (exempt from country limitations)	10 years

Eligible Visa Category List

Below is the main list of visas that are required to have valid ACA insurance in place.

Visa Type	Description	Eligibility
E1	Treaty trader, spouse, and children	2 years
E2	Treaty investor, spouse, and children	3 years
E3	Australian specialty occupation professional	2 years
E3D	Spouse or child of Australian specialty occupation	2 years
E3R	Returning Australian specialty occupation professional	2 years
H1B	Professional Work Visa (specialty occupation)	3 years
H1B1	H1B for Chile and Singapore	3 years
H4	Spouse or child of H1/B/B1	3 years
L1	Intercompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation)	3 years
L2	Spouse or child of intercompany transferee	3 years
O1	Person with extraordinary ability in the sciences, art, education, business, or athletics	3 years
O2	Person accompanying and assisting in the O1	3 years
O3	Spouse or child of O1 or O2	3 years
R1	Person in a religious occupation	30 months
R2	Spouse or child of R1	30 months
TD	Spouse or child of TN	3 years
TN	NAFTA professional	3 years