Temporary or Short-Term Health Insurance: The Fundamentals

There are several reasons you would look for a short-term health insurance. You may have just graduated college so you are no longer covered through your parent's policy. You may not have a job and be covered by an employer's insurance. You may have just lost or left your job and require a health insurance coverage until you secure a new job. You may have also just landed a job but it will be several months before you get health insurance coverage.

Whatever your situation is, having no health insurance even for a short period of few months can be very risky. If you are in this kind of a mess, temporary health insurance coverage will be of great assistance to you.

Temporary Health Insurance Coverage: What is it?

The name itself is pretty self-explanatory. A temporary health insurance policy covers you for a short period of time, anywhere between one to six months. However, longer period variants of health insurance are also available at times. If you require a longer health insurance coverage, some of these temporary policies can be extended, but a traditional health insurance plan is more beneficial in such cases.

Features of a Temporary Health Insurance Plan

Most of the medical conditions that the traditional policies cover are also covered by the temporary health insurance, yet these significantly differ from them. Temporary health insurance plans are a lot stricter regarding indemnity plans. Diagnostic and preventive treatments like check ups, dental and optical check up are not covered. Already existing medical conditions and work-related injuries are also not under the purview of a temporary health insurance policy.

Your temporary health insurance will give you coverage for any emergency conditions that you might suffer like prescription drugs, hospital and intensive care needs,X-rays and many times in home medical care too.

How to Get a Temporary Health Insurance

First of all, you need to get hold of an experienced health insurance agent. Decide beforehand regarding the period for which you will need the coverage and from when. Read the 'exclusion' clauses very carefully and don't hesitate to query and put forth your doubts. After you complete the application form, review it so as to ensure that every bit of information you have given is true. Keep a copy of all paperwork for your files.

Temporary health insurance cost varies depending on the kind of coverage you choose. Lower costs have a higher deductible 50/50 insurance option. Also do weigh some additional options. The prescription medicines are generally very costly, so it is better to go for getting them covered rather them not having insurance on it. Read the policy very carefully and weigh if the policy is worth the price you are going to pay.

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Temporary Health Insurance - Is Short-Term Medical Right For You

Short-Term health insurance often times is much more affordable than a COBRA plan or even an individual health plan. Although it may be substantially more cost effective, there is a right and a wrong time to purchase a Short-Term health plan.

Short-Term health insurance was created to fill a gap between coverage periods. As group health insurance rates have increased, the cost of COBRA has become out of reach for some people. If a person does not keep a continuation of health insurance over a period of 18 months, and try to enroll to a new group health plan, often times the new insurer will put a waiver on pre-existing conditions. Short-Term medical insurance can be a great way to keep a continuation of coverage.

There are risks involved with a Short-Term health plan. Short-Term health often will not cover any pre-existing conditions. They usually ask very vague questions about past health history. They approve the policies based on the honors system. Generally if you can answer "no" to 6-10 questions, the policy is approved. This does not mean that the insurance company is going to pay for any and all claims, especially pre-existing conditions and/or medications which are being taken at the time of enrollment. Please read and understand the contract/brochure very carefully.

Remember a Short-Term medical plan is exactly as it is titled. This is a temporary health insurance. Most plans do not give you the right to renew the policy when the policy ends. Even the ones which do allow you to renew are often not guaranteed renewable plans. This means that if there were a substantial claim while being enrolled to the original plan, they may not allow you to renew the plan. This is very important to understand. If you were to obtain cancer while being covered by a Short-Term health insurance plan, you will be covered during the period originally purchased. If you do not have a group plan lined up, and need to purchase another period to cover you, they will often not issue a new policy, you are then left uninsured at the most inopportune time, when you actually need the insurance.

If a person has another job lined up, but has a waiting period before the new health insurance plan will become effective, this is a great time to take advantage of a low cost short-term medical plan. If anything were to happen during the period of coverage on the Short-Term health plan, you will not need to renew it, because you will have a group plan starting at the end of the Short-Term health plan. Because you had a continuation of credible coverage in the Short-Term plan, the new group plan will likely not cover any pre-existing conditions you may have.

If a person was fired or laid off and does not have another job/insurance lined up, Short-Term medical may be a bad choice at this time. Again, if you have that unlucky occurrence of a major illness and/or accident, you will only be covered for the original purchase period, afterwards you are on your own, with no health insurance. Instead of Short-Term medical, a permanent individual plan may be a better answer. Most individual health plans are not able to cancel your policy due to claim, therefore if you had a major illness, you will have coverage as long as you pay your premium. If you have no major illness and become eligible for another group plan, you can always cancel the permanent individual plan.

Some Short-Term Health insurance plans now have a full year coverage option. Some agents sell the plan as an affordable "individual" health insurance option. This is likely not a good option. If you do not have another plan lined up or are not between coverage, you should not consider a Short-Term Health plan a permanent replacement insurance.

Please keep in mind, there is not one health plan which fits everyone's need. Do your research and talk to an agent if needed to ensure you find a plan which best fits your situation.

Michael Zitzke is licensed health and life insurance professional. He is affiliated with www.iWebQuotes.com, a site dedicated to providing it's visitors with accurate health insurance information as well as free quotes quotes on affordable individual and family health insurance plans.

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Temporary Health Insurance