Bare Bones or Skinny coverage
According to some sources, MEC (Minimum Essential Coverage Insurance) might be best described as bare bones coverage. In the same vein, they are also called "skinny" plans because they only need to meet the requirements under the Affordable Care Act. In the same way that you can get cheap car insurance that only meets the state requirements for coverage, cheap health insurance plans provide the same veneer of legality while leaving you with some big gaps the first time you need to use them.
To illustrate this scenario, imagine that your family was involved in an accident and more than one member was hospitalized. Your deductibles and co-pays could run as high as $12,700 and the plan would still be considered affordable. (As an individual the number is "just" $6,350). Of course, you could argue that it might be your fault for not getting a plan that offered more coverage, and this would be true for those who have disposable income and the ability to move up to a better plan. Employers generally offer a choice of healthcare packages that have lower deductibles but cost more per month. People who are self-employed or living on the margins might have to opt for the riskier plan and hope that they are lucky.
Your Plan Probably Qualifies
For the employee or person getting subsidized care, the concern about a MEC is usually short-lived, since plans of this type are the only ones offered and it is hard to buy a plan that does not meet the requirements. For employers, as long as they are going through an insurance company, the same is true but the plans they had before the ACA might be long gone, and more expensive. These expenses might be passed on to the employees, or customers. Part of the requirement for providing this coverage (even if you already did) is that you have to report it and that takes recordkeeping and accounting resources, especially in companies where there may be high turnover. .
Avoiding MEC Rules and Regulations
Smaller employers and medium-sized companies have found that they could avoid the need to provide coverage by either downsizing or turning full-time workers into part-time workers, and this has created a secondary marketplace for plans that are offered directly to employees who can't get coverage at work. Once again, finding the right plan and getting a subsidy may not be that difficult (now that the website actually works!) but for people who have just become part-time employees there still might be some sticker shock.