Best Short-Term Health Insurance Companies Of 2024 (2024)

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 is often inexpensive, but it’s also temporary. It’s meant to fill a gap in insurance if you’re suddenly without coverage (like when you leave a job). Short-term plans are usually not as comprehensive as regular health insurance.

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Our expert take	Company	Company - Logo	Forbes Advisor Rating	Forbes Advisor Rating	Top-scoring short-term health plan	Average monthly premium	Learn More
Best for prescription drug benefits	UnitedHealthcare		5.0		Copay Select Max	$234	See Plans
Best for 0% coinsurance option	Pivot Health		5.0		Epic Base	$120	See Plans
Best for low out-of-pocket costs	Everest		5.0		Flex Term Health Insurance	$150

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.

Short-term health insurance offers limited coverage for up to three months in most states, with the chance to extend the plan for another month for a total of four months in a 12-month period. The federal government reduced the previous length of one year with an option of up to three years in September 2024. 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.

The federal government now allows short-term health coverage for three months with the option to increase coverage for one more month in a 12-month period, but some states ban short-term coverage or limit coverage to three months max.

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.

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.

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:

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:

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.

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