It depends upon whether you have individual or group health insurance. If you are covered under an individual health insurance policy you can terminate your coverage essentially at anytime. When I say essentially, if you've made your monthly premium payment and decide in mid-month you want to cancel your coverage that cancelation almost certainly wouldn't go into effect until the first of the next month. It's highly unlikely you would be allowed to cancel retroactively or get a prorated refund.
Cancelling group health insurance coverage can be more complicated if your employer is using a Section 125 Plan and you are paying any portion of your premiums on a pre-tax basis. In this situation you are locked into your coverage until the next open enrollment period unless you experience what is called a change of life status event. This would be an event like getting married, divorced or having or adopting a child (to give the most common examples). Simply deciding that you don't want the coverage anymore or hitting a rough patch financially in and of themselves are not a qualifying events under IRS guidelines and do not meet the criteria for terminating your group coverage. So, whether your employer has a Section 125 Pre-tax plan in place (and these days most employer's do) is a key factor in determining whether or not you can drop your coverage at sometime other than the plan's annual renewal.
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Cancelling group health insurance coverage can be more complicated if your employer is using a Section 125 Plan and you are paying any portion of your premiums on a pre-tax basis. In this situation you are locked into your coverage until the next open enrollment period unless you experience what is called a change of life status event. This would be an event like getting married, divorced or having or adopting a child (to give the most common examples). Simply deciding that you don't want the coverage anymore or hitting a rough patch financially in and of themselves are not a qualifying events under IRS guidelines and do not meet the criteria for terminating your group coverage. So, whether your employer has a Section 125 Pre-tax plan in place (and these days most employer's do) is a key factor in determining whether or not you can drop your coverage at sometime other than the plan's annual renewal.