Under the Affordable Care Act “referred to as Obamacare,” each state is to devise its own basic set of health benefits. All Americans are required to purchase health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty. Patients will find plans tend to reflect the social and political priorities of the state in which they live.

If insurance plans cover too much, premiums will be very expensive. But if coverage isn’t significant, states could fail to deliver on the health law’s basic promise- extending quality health coverage.

While benefits for hospital care and doctor visits are similar across the board, coverage for alternative medicine and mental health services varies widely. For example, Virginia recommended that the state adopt a plan that includes speech therapy and chiropractic care. California settled on a benefit package that requires insurance companies to cover acupuncture. On the other hand, Oregon looked at the benefits of acupuncture, chiropractic and fertility treatments and in the end none made the cut.

Things are definitely in the air in terms of the future of health care and it will be interesting to see how things shake out after the November elections.