Everest’s Flex Term Health Insurance, Pivot Health’s Epic Base and UnitedHealthcare’s Copay Select Max are the best short-term health insurance plans, according to our analysis.
Short-term health insurance can help cover medical costs if you lose insurance temporarily, like when you leave a job. It usually has low monthly payments because it’s only for a short time. But it doesn’t cover as much as regular health insurance does.
UnitedHealthcare TriTerm Medical Value
Summary: Best Short-Term Health Insurance Companies
Premiums reflect the average for a 30-year-old woman who is a nonsmoker for the three lowest quotes in these cities: Orlando, Florida, Phoenix and El Paso, Texas.
The Best Short-Term Health Insurance Companies
What Is Short-Term Health Insurance?
Short-term health insurance offers limited coverage for up to 12 months in most states, with the chance to extend the plan for another two years. Some states don’t allow short-term plans or restrict the length of coverage.
Short-term health insurance plans aren’t regulated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), so you can be denied based on pre-existing conditions. And these plans don’t have to cover the minimum “essential health benefits” mandated by the law. ACA benefits that are standard in regular health insurance include inpatient and outpatient care, mental health services, prescription drug coverage and maternity care. Since short-term plans don’t have to offer this coverage you may have trouble finding a short-term health plan that does.
Short-term health insurance plans also generally have caps on how much the insurer will pay for certain services or in total.
Short-Term Health Insurance Laws by State
The federal government currently allows short-term health coverage for 12 months with the option to increase coverage for 36 months, but some states ban short-term coverage or limit coverage to shorter periods.
How Do You Qualify For Short-Term Health Insurance?
You can apply for a short-term health insurance policy at any time of year if your state allows short-term coverage.
You can be denied coverage based on your health, unlike standard health insurance. On the application you’ll likely answer yes/no questions about medical conditions.
A short-term health company could approve a policy but deny covering claims associated with pre-existing health issues. Insurers review claims to check whether the healthcare services were connected to pre-existing conditions. If they find a pre-existing condition is causing health problems, they could reject the claim or even drop your coverage at any time.
How Do You Choose A Short-Term Health Insurance Plan?
How Much Does Short-Term Health Insurance Cost?
The average cost for short-term health insurance is $171 a month, according to our analysis of eight policies.
We found costs as low as about $100 a month for barebones coverage to over $200 a month for coverage with prescription drug coverage. Short-term health insurers may promote coverage for under $100 a month, but you want to carefully read the print to understand what is and isn’t covered by cheaper short-term plans.
What you’re charged for short-term health insurance can vary by:
- Your age, gender and health.
- Tobacco use.
- Where you live.
- Coverage maximum.
- How many people are covered by your plan.
- Out-of-pocket costs, including coinsurance and deductible.
Average Monthly Short-Term Health Insurance Costs by Plan
| Company | Policy name | Average monthly short-term health insurance cost |
|---|---|---|
Pivot Health | Economy | $107 |
Pivot Health | Choice | $118 |
Pivot Health | Epic Base | $120 |
Everest | Flex Term | $150 |
UnitedHealthcare | Hospital & Surgical | $162 |
UnitedHealthcare | TriTerm Value | $198 |
UnitedHealthcare | Copay Select Max | $234 |
Pivot Health | Deluxe | $277 |
What Does Short-Term Health Insurance Cover?
Short-term health insurance plans don’t have to follow ACA rules, which means there can be a significant difference between what one policy covers compared to another.
Short-term health insurance plans may cover:
What Does Short-Term Health Insurance Not Cover?
Short-term health insurance plans aren’t governed by Affordable Care Act requirements, so each company decides what it does not cover. Make sure to check the policy for lists of exclusions. Examples of typical exclusions are:
Methodology
To identify the best short-term health insurance companies, we evaluated companies based on average monthly cost, coverage and out-of-pocket costs:
Short-term health insurance rates (25% of score): We compared quotes for a 30-year-old woman who is a nonsmoker for three cities: Orlando, Florida, Phoenix and El Paso, Texas. We took the three lowest quotes for each plan in each city and came up with an average.
Coverage maximum (25% of score): Unlike standard health insurance, a short-term health insurance plan has maximum coverage, either lifetime or annual, which is the most the company will pay for an individual’s care.
Deductible (20% of score): Short-term health insurance companies often offer multiple health insurance deductible levels. Plans with more options got more points in our analysis.
Coinsurance (15% of score): Coinsurance is the percentage you pay for healthcare services after you reach your plan’s deductible. The insurer picks up the rest of the bill until you reach the coverage limit. Lower coinsurance levels mean less money out of pocket, so we gave those plans more points.
Prescription drug coverage (15% of score): Many short-term health insurance plans don’t offer prescription drug benefits or only give a discount card for members. We analyzed which short-term plans offer prescription drugs, which ones do not and which have exclusions that only cover prescription drugs for specific reasons, such as only during hospitalizations.
Need Short-Term Health Insurance?
Via ShortTermHealthInsurance.com
Other Short-Term Health Insurance Plans We Rated
| Company | Policy name | Forbes Advisor rating |
|---|---|---|
UnitedHealthcare | Hospital & Surgical |  4.5 stars |
UnitedHealthcare | TriTerm Value | 4.5 stars |
Pivot Health | Pivot Health Choice |  4 stars |
Pivot Health | Pivot Health Economy | 4 stars |
Pivot Health | Pivot Health Deluxe |  3 stars |
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