Short term health insurance pros and cons

Short term health insurance is intended to provide coverage only for a few months, sometimes longer. There are both pros and cons to these policies, and it's important to understand them before purchasing one.

Eligibility requirements, in some ways, are stricter with short term health insurance. They deny any pre-existing medical conditions, like diabetes or heart disease. On the other hand, since they're intended for people in between jobs or just out of college, the employment qualifications are more lenient than with a traditional policy.

Coverage is limited as well. Usually routine visits to your doctor are not covered. But more expensive treatments, like emergency room visits, surgeries, or transplants, generally are. This is a great compromise, because you get the benefit of very low premiums while still having peace of mind if a serious health crisis should arise during the few months that you don't have other forms of coverage. Any of these services would be extremely expensive if paid for out-of-pocket with no insurance at all.

Although it usually only covers thirty days to six months, a new policy can usually be purchased to extend this short time frame. Since they go into effect so quickly, it will not show up as a lapse. This can be extremely important when future insurance companies look at your history.

One of the best benefits of short term health insurance is that it sometimes precludes coverage denial later on. A policy lapse can, for some companies, be reason enough not to cover you. Purchasing a short-term policy often results in a certificate of credible coverage. This guarantees that you will not be excluded because of pre-existing conditions; if you have a policy, it means you're healthy.

Overall, the benefits of purchasing short term health insurance outweigh the potential negatives. Remember, it's designed to be temporary, and it fills this role perfectly.

The purpose of short term health insurance
When to buy short term health insurance
Short term health insurance pros and cons
Short term health insurance is an option for continuing health coverage during unemployment