Short Term Health Insurance

During times of transition, short term health insurance makes good sense. It’s less expensive than major medical insurance and covers unexpected medical costs, giving you peace of mind when you’re between jobs, waiting for an employer’s plan to start or fresh out of college and in need of temporary protection. Short term coverage includes benefits for emergency care, hospitalization, outpatient procedures and more. It doesn’t usually cover preventive screenings, maternity care, prescriptions or mental health services.

Why Are Short Term Health Plans Less Expensive?

You won’t find the same comprehensive benefits with a short term health plan as you would with a major medical policy, but that’s not what these plans are designed for. Instead, temporary coverage provides you with a safety net when you’re waiting for more robust benefits to come along.

With short term health insurance, the application process is quick and simple, you can get covered in a day, and monthly premiums are comfortably low. Best of all, you can apply anytime throughout the year – no need to wait for open enrollment in the fall.

These policies aren’t for everyone. If you need a lot of routine medical care, you’ve got a pre-existing condition, or you can afford a traditional health insurance package, then short term coverage may not be right for you. The application process does include medical underwriting, so you may not get approved if you have certain health problems. Short term policies don’t count as minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and you may be charged a penalty fee in 2018 if you don’t have major medical insurance in place.

Despite the drawbacks, short term plans can be an affordable, temporary solution to not having any protection at all. Short term insurance is limited to three months under current federal regulations, but some plans let you bundle multiple policies together. And when you combine limited-duration policies with ancillary benefits, like accident or critical illness coverage, you can create a more customized and cost-effective benefits package than you might get with traditional insurance.