Short Term Health Insurance is a Major Medical Health Insurance policy that was originally designed to cover shorter periods of time – from 30 days up to 364 days. This could be a gap in employer coverage when changing jobs, or bridging the gap to Medicare, etc
Over the past decade this has changed and some plans now have renewal options to cover periods of up to 3 years, so they are not solely for ‘short term’ or temporary coverage any more.
Several companies now offer these plans and they have been very popular for a number of reasons:
- Premiums are usually very low, often half or a third of the cost of traditional plans.
- Provider networks are typically very broad and offer nationwide coverage
- There are many plan and deductible options to choose from – plans with copays, and deductible choices from $1,000 up to $12,500 or more.
- Coverage amounts are usually $1 Million or $2 Million.
There are certain things that these plans usually don’t cover – such as pre-existing conditions, routine maternity coverage (although they typically do cover pregnancy complications) and mental health coverage.
Customers will have to answer a few short health questions in order to qualify for coverage so these plans aren’t for everyone. They are often the best fit for people in good to average health, and those who don’t qualify for a significant tax credit for Marketplace plans.