Short term Health Insurance plans have gone through substantive changes during the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Up until this year, short term health plans could be purchased for 11 months, and due to the fact that theses plans are not ACA compliant, premiums are much less. The caveat here is that these plans do not cover any pre-existing condition, do not include any of the ACA mandated Essential benefits, and can currently be purchased for only 3 months at a time.
All this being said, short term contracts can be beneficial to those who have been hired by a company but have yet to fulfill their 90 waiting period for group benefits to begin, or for those that for whatever reason, have lost their individual coverage throughout the year. I have assisted many clients who have lost coverage due to issues with the Exchange, were termed for non-payment, among other reasons.
The good news is, our firm has found a short term health insurance carrier in Petersen International, that will not only pay claims on a new health event as per the 90 contract, but will also write another 90 day contract, and will continue to pay the claims on the initial event. This is the first time any short term carrier has honored these claims in this manner.
So while certainly not a permanent solution, there is at least now a gap insurance plan that would help people in any of the above situations. Kevin Murray & Associates is a judge free zone, so if you are one that has found themselves in this position, don’t hesitate to contact us to assist.