Are you a part time employee or a recent college graduate? Perhaps you fall under the category of healthy people who have reached the age of 18 and have lost the dependent status under their parents’ health insurance coverage scheme or better yet retired early, then you must be thinking of a short term health insurance.

When you are faced with the option of buying the lowest health insurance policy plans, there are but many benefits which you would gain. Depending on the plan which you buy, most benefits are wide and offer up to $1million to $2million per person.

The Short term medical health insurance, as the name implies is only temporary and often for a very short period of time. It is an affordable health insurance policy for people who do not need the coverage for former conditions but provide low cost safeguard in cases of injuries or illnesses during the coverage period.

Due to its low monthly cost and high coverage limits, sales of short term health insurance policies have increased. It is one of the shortest applications in the health industry and many insurers now offer the credit card payment schemes.

By buying a designed short term health insurance policy plan, you are free to consult with any doctor or health specialist of your choice. Because of its affordability, it does not pay for routine preventive care unless an injury or illness has occurred in the first periods during the time of the policy coverage.

From buying a short term insurance health coverage plan, you can benefit from surgery, hospital care, emergency services, diagnostic tests, follow up office visits and in some cases mental health case services.

A very important thing to take note when buying short term medical insurance is to be honest when answering the questions on the applications. This is important because most short term medical insurance policies only cover the present period and does not cover any pre-existing periods.

The pre-existing period is the time period which you developed any symptoms or condition 36 months before the start of the coverage. This means that if you are not honest in filling up your applications, there is a possibility of your claims for the pre-existing period being denied.

Almost similar to the many individual health insurance policies, short term health insurance coverage plans excludes pre-existing conditions. The “look back” period for this scheme varies from state to state; however, the common rule for short term policies is that some providers may exclude conditions or symptoms which are known to have existed within the last three years.

Many health insurance benefit plans offer the advantage of paying your premiums up front or on a monthly basis and you might be lucky enough to find a company which gives discount when the single payment method is chosen.

Having considered the benefits of short term medical insurance policies, you may be interested in knowing how much it costs?

The good thing about short term medical health insurance plan is the low premiums which are not usually paid because of the pre-existing conditions involved. Many insurers only provide this health benefit plans to people under the age of 65. If you are already covered by another health policy, then it’s advisable not to buy any short term health insurance plans.

In summary, short term health insurance policies are one of the most effective health insurance plans to take up when you are in a temporary or interim position, it usually do not last for long, but the benefits within that short period of time can be very useful.

Short Term Health Insurance is temporary yet manageable, ideal, comprehensive and so far, the lowest-cost type of medical insurance coverage throughout the USA for the following healthy people:

 Self-employed and Unemployed

 recently laid off or a terminated employee

 In between career transition

 College students or Fresh college graduates

 In need of a lower-cost alternative to COBRA

 People in non-traditional jobs

 In between long term health insurance plans

 A dependent no longer covered under the parents’ plan

Short Term Health Insurance provides a comprehensive and wide coverage of health services including prescription drugs, laboratory tests, X-rays, hospital rooms including intensive care unit and board charges inpatient and outpatient services, home health care and more. Coverage is available for as little as 30 days or for as long 6 months depending on your state of residency although some plans will cover initially for up to 12 months. But if you need coverage beyond this, you may want to look at a more permanent health insurance option. In addition to its limitations, this type of insurance plan does not cover most of the features of a permanent insurance plan such as routine medical exams, preventive care, dental or optical care, or pregnancy and childbirth expenses.

Nevertheless, despite the benefit limits of short term health insurance plans, it can help fill the gaps in your health insurance coverage. And it’s what the doctor usually prescribes. So if you are one of the millions of Americans who will be buying individual health insurance, here’s good news for you: competition among the health insurance providers has driven the cost of short-term coverage down to much less than the cost of a monthly car payment for most people. One of its major appeals is its low premiums since the policies do not cover for any pre-existing conditions. Since the eligible in this insurance is a cluster of healthy people, the cost of it remains low since few people will likely to have claims.

A short term health insurance plan rarely requires physical exam and the coverage begins as soon as the insurer receives and approves your application. The policy works like an indemnity plan which generally lets you choose the doctor and specialist you want. However, most short term insurance plans require pre-certification, which is an obligation that you should become familiar with. In most insurers, the eligibles are- you and your spouse under the age of 65, the unmarried dependent children under the age of 19, only child from age 2 through 18.

For how long can you be insured in this plan? The insurer will define the term and will issue a temporary need. If the need for temporary health insurance continues, you may apply for another coverage period. Your application is subject to eligibility and underwriting requirements. Furthermore, the coverage is no longer continuous. Short term health insurance policies are exempt from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability of 1996. Also, most insurance providers do not guarantee the renewabilitiy of the contract.

Different health insurance plans have their own advantages and disadvantages. The choice of what best fits you depends on your needs, financial capacity and status. This is why you have to shop first and study the different features and choose the one that most appeal to you.