Shopping for health insurance can trigger sticker shock in 2026. Skyrocketing premiums and the end of Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced subsidies mean coverage can cost tens of thousands of dollars per year for many families that are ineligible for employer plans or Medicare.
A different type of coverage known as a short-term health insurance plan might be available for significantly lower premiums…but lower premiums don’t necessarily mean this coverage is a wise choice, warns Caitlin Donovan of the nonprofit Patient Advocate Foundation. “The important thing to know is that this is not comprehensive coverage,” says Donovan. “It does not come with all the essential health benefits that other health insurance provides. Have your eyes wide open if you consider it.”
Short-term health plans are appropriate in only very specific circumstances and can be dangerous to policyholders’ financial health. We asked Donovan for details…
What Is Short-Term Health Insurance?
Short-term health plans are a form of health insurance that’s available to consumers in most, though not all, states. It is not sold through the ACA marketplaces. As the phrase “short-term” suggests, these plans are designed to fill a temporary coverage gap, not to serve as a permanent health-insurance solution. “This is a bridge,” says Donovan, “not an island.”
Short-term health insurance for individuals almost always is less comprehensive than ACA coverage, and it comes with far fewer consumer protections. Examples: Short-term coverage is subject to underwriting, which means insurers can impose higher premiums or reject applicants outright based on their health, something they cannot do with ACA plans.
Most short-term plans do not cover preexisting conditions and exclude certain categories of health care, such as maternity care, that ACA plans are required to provide. The lack of coverage for preexisting conditions can be particularly problematic for people in their 50s and 60s. The older people get, the greater the odds that they have some diagnosis or lab result than an insurance company can later claim is evidence that a medical issue was preexisting. “We’ve had incidents of people who have short-term coverage and they later find out it doesn’t cover their cancer treatments, for instance,” says Donovan.
Who Should Consider Short-Term Health Insurance?
Short-term health insurance plans can be a viable option for relatively healthy people who need to fill a gap between other health coverage—that’s why these plans are sometimes called “health insurance gap coverage.”
Examples: Changing jobs can create a coverage gap between employer plans. Retiring slightly before turning 65 can create a gap between an employer plan and Medicare eligibility. Young adults sometimes face a gap when they age out of their parent’s coverage, which often occurs at age 26 or at the end of the year that includes the 26th birthday, though this can vary by state. People can face a gap at any age if they fail to enroll in coverage during an enrollment period, forcing them to wait for the next “open enrollment” to do so. In fact, people sometimes face a brief gap even if they do enroll during an enrollment period—many forms of health insurance don’t begin immediately upon enrollment.
What these scenarios have in common is that the use of the short-term plan isn’t open ended—there’s already an end date for the short-term coverage looming when this coverage begins. Short-term health plans are appropriate as temporary insurance to fill a coverage gap that’s measured in months, not years, even though the current rules make it possible in many states to obtain short-term coverage lasting up to 12 or even 36 months.
Caution: While short-term insurance coverage is better than not being covered at all, it shouldn’t be selected when other insurance is available—the longer short-term coverage is used, the greater the odds that its many gaps and gotchas will come back to haunt the policyholder.
Short-term plans also usually are not appropriate for people who have significant health issues. Such people might struggle to obtain this coverage, and any short-term policy they are offered almost certainly won’t cover preexisting conditions.
What Does Short-Term Health Insurance Cover?
Most short-term medical plans cover emergency medical care, many inpatient and outpatient procedures, lab work and imaging. Some cover additional forms of medical care, but there are no blanket guarantees about what’s covered with short-term plans—the list of “essential benefits” that ACA marketplace plans are required to cover does not apply here.
Most short-term plans exclude certain forms of health care entirely. Examples: Maternity care, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, preventive care including immunizations, and prescription drugs. As noted above, most plans exclude coverage related to preexisting conditions, too.
Even if a short-term plan does cover a type of health care, that doesn’t guarantee that it covers it well. Short-term plans sometimes have extremely steep deductibles, co-insurance and co-pays. Some plans even have benefit caps that could leave policyholders saddled with financially ruinous medical bills if they experience major health problems. “You might think I could never spend $100,000 on health care,” says Donovan. “But you could. Health-care costs can be very high”
Before signing any short-term health insurance policy: Read that policy’s small print to ensure you truly understand what will and won’t be covered. Never choose among these policies based on premiums alone—the plans with the most attractive premiums tend to be the ones with the most dangerous coverage gaps. “It’s ‘buyer beware,’” warns Donovan.
Pros and Cons of Short-Term Health Insurance
The main advantages of short-term health insurance plans versus ACA coverage are their accessibility and, potentially, their lower premiums. While ACA coverage is available only during specific enrollment windows, short-term plans generally can be purchased fairly quickly at any time of year. It’s often possible to find short-term plans that have significantly lower monthly premiums than ACA coverage—more about premiums below.
The most obvious downside of short-term plans is that this coverage tends to be much less comprehensive than other health insurance. But there are some additional potential downsides worth noting as well…
Short-term health plans are ineligible for ACA subsidies
Those subsidies dramatically lower the cost of ACA coverage for many people, though they’re not as widely available in 2026 as they were in some prior years.
Women usually pay extra
Insurers generally impose higher premiums for women than men with short-term plans, something not allowed with ACA coverage.
Renewal isn’t guaranteed
Short-term plans can provide coverage for up to 12 or even 36 months under the current rules in many states, but that doesn’t mean a policyholder can depend on this coverage for extended stretches. If a policyholder experiences an expensive health problem, his/her insurer might opt to not renew the coverage at the end of a coverage period.
Policyholders don’t qualify for special enrollment periods when short-term coverage ends
When someone loses his/her health insurance, it typically triggers a “special enrollment period” that can be used to sign up for ACA coverage. But the end of a short-term plan doesn’t trigger this ACA-enrollment opportunity. That means policyholders who develop expensive health problems and are not renewed by their short-term insurance providers might be unable to obtain any coverage until the next ACA open-enrollment period.
How Much Does Short Term Health Insurance Cost?
Premiums vary dramatically depending on policy terms, region and the applicant’s age and gender, among other factors. A recent study by nonprofit health policy organization KFF found that a 40-year-old often can obtain some sort of short-term coverage for less than $100 per month, for example—that’s much less than it would cost to enroll in even the most affordable ACA “Bronze” plan if this person doesn’t qualify for ACA subsidies.
But KFF also noted that those bargain-basement short-term plan premiums don’t tell the whole story. The premiums of higher-end short-term plans—plans that don’t have extremely high deductibles or other glaring problems—tend to land in the mid-three-figures per month for a 40-year-old. That’s roughly comparable to the cost of an unsubsidized ACA Bronze plan, even though ACA coverage is much more comprehensive and has much stronger consumer protections. If someone does qualify for ACA subsidies, then an ACA Bronze plan is likely both better and less expensive than a short-term plan.
Eligibility and Application Process
Anyone is eligible to purchase short-term health insurance, as long as short-term coverage is available in their state and they can pass the insurance company’s medical underwriting process.
Typically, this coverage is purchased online, either directly through a health insurance company or through a website that offers coverage from multiple insurers. Enter “Short term health plans” and your state into a search engine to find numerous offers, assuming these policies are available in your state. In states where this coverage is available it’s available year-round, with no specific enrollment period.
Warning: If you complete an application for short-term insurance, be sure to disclose all of your preexisting health issues. If you overlook a health issue on this application, then later experience an expensive medical problem, the insurance company might search through your medical history and refuse to cover your medical bills if it uncovers undisclosed medical conditions.
State Regulations and Availability
As of early 2026, short-term insurance plans were available in 36 states. Five states—California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York—ban them outright.
Nine additional states plus Washington, DC, haven’t banned them, but have enacted rules that insurers consider sufficiently onerous that no short-term plans tend to be offered there. These nine states are Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Short-term plans are available in the remaining 36 states, though there are differences in which insurers offer coverage, the duration of coverage available and other details.
Alternatives to Short-Term Health Insurance
The main alternative to short-term health insurance are the ACA marketplaces. But people seeking short-term health insurance also should consider COBRA coverage, if available. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) often allows people who until recently were covered by an employer’s group plan to remain on that group plan for up to an additional 18 months (up to 36 months under certain circumstance). After that coverage would end.
Downsides: COBRA can be pricey, and it’s not always available after exiting a group plan, but when it or a similar state program is available, that’s almost certainly a safer option than a short-term plan. “Most people should look into their COBRA options or the ACA marketplaces before turning to short-term plans,” advises Donovan. “Some short-term plans have low premiums, but that doesn’t mean they’re good deals.”
