Short-term and Affordable Care Act Plans The help you need to find the insurance plan you want

A short-term health insurance plan provides temporary coverage.

If you’re recently unemployed, in-between jobs, or just waiting for an ACA or Medicare health plan to begin, short-term health insurance plans can provide temporary coverage for you and your family, either month to month or for up to three years.

Short-term health insurance plans offer basic, affordable medical coverage, usually for 6-12 months.

You can enroll in a short-term insurance plan any time of the year to cover basic medical needs, emergency care, tests and hospitalizations. With lower premiums and often less coverage than traditional plans, short-term health plans can be a good option for people who are unemployed or are waiting for other coverage to begin.

Depending on your state and insurer, you may be able to extend short-term health insurance coverage up to three years.

To continue your short-term health plan, you often need to re-apply at the end of your current term. Depending on the insurer, you may be able to apply for multiple terms (up to 36 months) with a single application.

A short-term plan costs less, covers fewer expenses and you can cancel it at any time.

Short-term insurance plans are intended for temporary coverage, so they don’t have to meet the same comprehensive requirements as ACA (Obamacare) options. That makes them a more affordable option with limited coverage that you can start or stop at any time.

ACA plans differ, but all guarantee 10 essential benefits.

By law, ACA plans must cover outpatient, emergency services, surgery, maternity and newborn care, mental health, prescriptions drugs, preventative and rehabilitative care, as well as lab services and pediatrics. This kind of coverage comes with higher premiums than short-term plans.

You can start a plan during the annual “Open Enrollment,” or other times in some cases.

The “Open Enrollment” period for 2021 health plans is from November 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020. During this time, you can select and join an ACA plan. You can also enroll any time you have a qualifying life event—for example, if you’ve lost existing health coverage, moved, were married or had a child.

No—In almost all cases, there’s a waiting period before coverage starts.

While you can select a plan any time during Open Enrollment, you won’t start paying premiums until your new coverage begins on January 1. But if you purchase an ACA plan because of a qualifying life event, that coverage won’t begin for at least two weeks.

Premiums vary and subsidies may be available.

If your income is less than 4x the Federal poverty level, subsidies may cover part of your premium and/or out-of-pocket costs. ACA plans can help manage expenses because they provide a cap on what you have to pay. Your maximum out out-of-pocket expenses in 2020 is $8,200 for individual plans, and $16,000 for families.