Best Short-Term Health Insurance Providers

If you lose other health insurance coverage or are temporarily between jobs, you may need to purchase short-term health insurance. However, there are other options available. If you recently lost a job, you may be eligible for COBRA insurance. You also may be able to sign up for a new policy through the health insurance marketplace if you’ve experienced a qualifying event such as loss of healthcare coverage, change in residence, or other life changes such as marriage, divorce, or having a baby.

There are a few factors you should keep in mind when shopping for short-term health insurance:

• Coverage limits: Most short-term plans have coverage limits ranging from a few hundred thousand to a few million dollars.
• Deductibles: The higher your deductible, the more you’ll have to pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. Most short-term health insurance plans have deductibles ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
• Availability: Providers may not operate in your state.
• Prescription coverage: Not all short-term health insurance policies cover prescriptions, so be sure to look for a plan with coverage if you take any regular medications.

Once you’ve settled on a short-term health insurance provider, the next step is to apply for a health insurance quote. If you decide to select the policy after receiving a quote, you’ll need to provide information about yourself, including your name, address, and Social Security number. Most short-term insurance providers allow customers to pay for policies online. You typically can manage your policy and make any necessary changes online.

After applying for a short-term policy, you’ll receive a health insurance card in the mail. Depending on your policy details, some services may be covered as soon as the next day after applying, while others may not be covered for several months. Keep in mind that short-term health insurance is only meant to be a temporary stop-gap; there are cheaper plans available on the marketplace during open enrollment.

Short-term health insurance provides limited coverage as a temporary bridge while you wait to qualify for an ACA-compliant plan. It can be used when you do not yet qualify for a group insurance plan or are waiting for the next open enrollment. Some people choose short-term health insurance as temporary coverage in case of an emergency if they suddenly are without coverage for various reasons. Examples might be:

• Leaving a job that had a health insurance plan and not qualifying for COBRA plans
• Retiring early and looking for temporary insurance until qualifying for Medicare
• No longer qualifying for a group plan due to divorce
• Moving to a new state where an existing plan cannot follow and waiting until a new plan starts
• Students or young adults turning 26 who no longer qualify for their parents' insurance
• People who want to have a plan with no network and find ACA plans too expensive

Anyone can apply for short-term health insurance. However, because it is not ACA compliant, it uses medical underwriting and may refuse to insure you (or offer only limited coverage). Depending on which state you are in, coverage may be available only for a limited time, up to a maximum of three years.

Short-term health insurance is available through quotes you can obtain by phone or directly on an insurance company's website. Online marketplaces and insurance agencies also have websites that provide quotes with various insurers (in some cases hundreds), making it easy to find options. Some examples include eHealth and Agile.

Short-term coverage always has been known as a lower-cost health insurance option. Still, with many tax credits available for lower-income individuals, it is important to consider all your options. Check if you qualify for a special enrollment period, and be sure and check what you can get in the ACA marketplace first. Even some zero-premium Bronze ACA plans are available for low-income enrollees in parts of the country.

The average cost of short-term health insurance for a single person is $124 a month compared to $456 for an unsubsidized ACA-compliant plan. We found plans with coverage more suited to the concept of catastrophic plans (due to their high deductibles) for as low as $60 a month. It can be confusing due to the lack of consistency in plan coverages, but it is recommended to shop and compare the options line by line.

Short-term medical insurance is meant to cover hospital room and board, emergency health situations, inpatient doctor visits, and other unexpected medical needs not part of pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately, confusion about how the coverage works and existing exclusions create a lot of claim denials. These are emergency plans with limitations for preventive care and high deductibles.

Short-term health providers will tailor different types of packages in varying price ranges. You can find some policies that offer more coverage than others. You do not need to settle for a bare minimum plan, so be sure and ask about preventive care add-ons or other coverage to get the best quotes. It is worth comparing a few options before you make a decision.

Short-term health plans have many exclusions, including no coverage for pre-existing conditions. Short-term health plans are not subject to the ACA provisions and are not ACA-compliant. Short-term health plans leave you with significant risks of incurring medical debt due to high deductibles, extensive exclusions, and, because of this, potential denials of coverage.

Exclusions that demonstrate the limitations found in many short-term health plans include these statistics:

• 43% do not cover mental health services
• 62% do not cover substance abuse
• 71% do not cover outpatient prescription drugs
• No short-term health plans cover maternity care

Short-term health plans do not cover wellness visits, although we found a few in our reviews that do offer it for a cost.

COBRA plans allow you to maintain the coverage you had through your employer or previous group benefits, including all the ACA-compliant essential benefits, and allow you to maintain coverage for things like pregnancy or mental health if your former plan covered it. In contrast, short-term medical plans provide you with much less coverage and no essential benefits.

The average cost of a COBRA plan depends greatly on what kind of plan your employer or group had in the first place. In some cases, the employer may continue to pay into the plan for you, which will give you a reduced cost. In others, you may end up having to pay into the plan yourself fully. Don’t forget to consider that all amounts you already paid toward your deductible will count toward the COBRA continuation of benefits, and this can save you a lot of money, especially if you plan to be on it for only a short while.