1. 5527 POINTS
    Marlin McKelvy
    President, Consumer Directed Benefit Solutions, Memphis, Tennessee
    Yes, depending upon the type of health insurance you are talking about. I will presume that you are seeking coverage for a one month period because you are looking to protect yourself in a coverage gap between jobs that will offer you employment based coverage or to cover yourself until individual major medical coverage purchased during the open enrollment period starts on January 1, 2015.

    Short Term Major Medical insurance would be the solution to your problem. There are a pretty wide selection of Short Term policies available from a variety of health insurance carriers (your state's BC/BS plan, United Healthcare, etc.) though your options will vary from state to state. Short Term Major Medical insurance will provide you with substantial protection in the event of an accident or illness during the time the policy is in effect. Also, Short Term Policies are generally pretty affordable, especially in comparison to ObamaCare compliant major medical policies.

    There are some issues or characteristics of Short Term Medical policies that a potential buyer needs to be aware of.

    1) They do not cover pre-existing conditions.
    2) Some policies have limited underwriting questions that they ask and you can be turned down for coverage.
    3) They do not cover preventive care services
    4) Some may not cover prescription drugs
    5) They do not meet the criteria for being considered major medical coverage under the rules of ObamaCare and could make a person subject to the individual mandate tax penalty (though you have to go for more than 90-days without ObamaCare compliant coverage for the penalty to apply)

    With those factors in mind, a Short Term Major Medical policy can be an excellent solution for cost effective health insurance protection and may be a much more affordable alternative to COBRA continuation coverage for a person who has lost their employer based coverage. In fact, some people who are in good health and who are low utilizers of health care services are doing the math and determining that even when taking the possible tax penalty into consideration that a Short Term Major Medical policy makes more sense for them than ObamaCare compliant major medical policies.

    You should exercise caution if you choose to follow this strategy and look for a Short Term Major Medical policy that will cover you for as long of a time period as possible. In some states some carriers sell policies that can run just short of a year. The reason for this is if you should experience a serious illness or injury, for example you are diagnosed with cancer, while covered under the Short Term Medical policy then ideally it would run out at the end of the year and allow you to take advantage of the open enrollment period and enroll in an ObamaCare compliant plan that is guaranteed to be issued, can have no pre-existing condition exclusions or waiting periods and would therefore cover your condition immediately.

    You should seek out the services of an experienced health insurance agent to help you find the Short Term Major Medical policy best suited for your needs.
    Answered on November 2, 2014
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