Temporary Health Insurance

Temporary health insurance, or short-term health insurance, is designed to fill gaps between coverage. It is not recommended as a replacement for regular health insurance. Short-term plans typically do not cover maternity, preventive care, pre-existing conditions, or prescriptions. However, they do provide coverage for unexpected illness or injury when you are:

Between jobs
Looking for a less expensive alternative to COBRA
A U.S. citizen living abroad and visiting the U.S.
Waiting for your individual health plan to be approved

Below you’ll find four different companies that offer this type of coverage. There’s no formal underwriting process—if you can answer all health questions with “no,” the policy will be issued and can begin as early as 12:01 a.m. tonight or on a future date of your choice.

You can choose a fixed number of days for coverage or pay month-to-month for up to 6 or 12 months, depending on the plan. The options below are listed by popularity. Just click the links, quote the plan, and buy immediately online.

It will cost you the same no matter where you buy, so when you make your decision, please support our site and make your purchase here. Thank you!

Temporary Health Insurance Companies

IHC Health Solutions

Most short-term plans aren’t available to people with certain health conditions or a history of coverage denial. STM Lite skips the decline question, but we recommend the Secure STM for better coverage. You can compare options in “plan details” from the temporary health quote engine.

Temporarily Not Available – see below instead

f NHIC IntellaBridgeCare

This plan offers another short-term health insurance option. Be sure to contact the insurer after the policy ends to cancel any association fee—this does not automatically terminate with the policy.