Short term health insurance may be a wise choice for recent college
graduates or others who will be uninsured for a short time. Although
temporary health insurance plans won't be a permanent solution to
your health care needs, they will ensure continuity of coverage.
What is Short Term
Health Insurance?
Temporary health insurance
plans cover you for a short period, usually from one to six months.
A few providers extend their coverage up to 12 months. These plans
are great for people who end up "between" insurance plans. For
example, a recent college graduate may no longer be covered by
his or her parents' policy and may not have a job offering benefits
yet. Since having no coverage can mean delaying necessary treatments
or incurring expensive medical bills, a short term health insurance
plan would provide coverage until the individual can get long-term
coverage through an employer or a private plan.
Does Everyone Qualify for Temporary Health Insurance?
To qualify for most
short-term health insurance programs, you need to be in fairly
good health and be under 65 years of age. For some plans, coverage
can be extended to dependents under the age of 19, or under 25
for dependents who are full-time students.
Temporary health insurance
usually does not cover pre-existing conditions. Each state defines
pre-existing conditions differently, but most describe it as any
illness or health problem that you have been diagnosed with during
the last 3 to 5 years. You can learn more about your health insurance
rights, including your state's definition of pre-existing conditions,
by visiting Health Insurance Info (www.healthinsuranceinfo.net).
Can Short-term Health Insurance be extended?
In general, temporary
health insurance plans end after the specified policy period.
Normally, these plans can not be renewed, and you'll need to find
health insurance coverage through a long-term plan. Most temporary
health insurance providers also provide long-term plans. You can
learn more about long-term health insurance by reading our articles
on "Individual Health Insurance" or "Health Insurance Coverage."
If you expect to need
insurance for longer than six months, you should consider an individual
health insurance plan rather than a temporary plan.
What Happens if You are Injured or Become Chronically Ill While
Covered by Short Term Health Insurance?
Depending on the deductible
amount you chose when signing up for your policy, you may incur
some medical costs. For example, if your deductible is $1000,
then your insurance policy won't start paying any of the costs
until after the first $1000 in expenses. For this reason, it's
a good idea to choose a lower deductible even though it may mean
higher premiums. Some policies may not cover all of your medical
expenses either. You may be expected to pay 20% while the insurance
covers the other 80%, for instance.
Before you choose a
policy, you need to ask questions about how much of your expenses
will be covered. Other costs, such as prescriptions, are typically
not covered by your policy either.
Short-term Health
Insurance Resources and References
Other Resources
