SHORT-TERM MEDICAL INSURANCE

• Eligibility Requirements
• Considerations When Choosing Short-term Medical Insurance
• FAQs
  

Considerations in Choosing Short-term Medical Insurance

Short-term Medical Insurance covers a person for a limited period. If you think you'll need coverage for more than six months, you may want to look at a more permanent health insurance option.

Short-term Medical Insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. It is designed to protect against the unforeseen. If pre-existing conditions were covered under Short-term Medical policies, people could just wait until they were diagnosed with an illness or suffered an injury, buy a policy to cover the treatment, and then drop it. The cost of such policies would be prohibitive. Because Short-term Medical Insurance is designed to cover the unexpected, it also does not include coverage for preventive care, physicals, immunizations, dental or eye care.

The definition of a pre-existing condition varies by state, but in general, Short-term Medical excludes conditions that have been diagnosed or treated within the previous 5 years. If you have an existing medical condition, you may want to see if extending your current insurance to fill a gap in coverage is an option.