Health plan design just got easier, and morecomplicated, at the same time.

Plan managers already have a rather lengthy list of conditionsand treatments they must cover by law as part of the PatientProtection and Affordable Care Act. This list of mostly preventivecare items just grew by two, as the U.S. Preventive Services TaskForce has added coverage for Hepatitis B and preeclampsiaconditions.

As reported by Kaiser Health News, the task force added to thelist of must-cover-at-no-co-pay hepatitis B screening (adults andadolescents) who may be at high risk for infection due to drug useor HIV; and low-dose aspirin therapy for women who may be at riskfor preeclampsia.

KHN reported that the task force will require the hepatitis Btreatment due to “new evidence that antiviral treatments improvedoutcomes in people at high risk for the liver infection, includingthose from countries where the infection is common, people who areHIV-positive and injection drug users.”

As for the preeclampsia condition, the task force is calling forfully covered screening for gestational preeclampsia “after 24weeks in asymptomatic pregnant women.”

But, notes KHN, “that service is already being offered at nocost by health plans following an Institute Of Medicine studycommissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services thatidentified gaps in existing coverage guidelines.”

So the true list has only increased by one more. According totask force policy, these won't have to be covered until a year fromnow.