If you’re thinking about getting 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:short-term health insurance, you may want to consider taking advantage of the upcoming 澳▨洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:open enrollment period for an ACA plan for coverage next year, given new rul♌es governing STH𝓡I.

The rules, which went into effect Sept. 1, say an STHI company can only cover y♚ou for three months, with an option to extend for another month, for a total of four months of coverage within a 12-month period. (You’ll still be able to buy a new STHI plan after four months, but you’ll need to find a different, eligible insurer wiꦦthin your area who will insure you.)

The rules are meant to 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:limit the usage of short-term plans, which are not subject to the same coverage requirements as ACA insurance, also known as Obamacare or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Marketplace health insurance. You can buy more comprehensive coverage for🌼 next year during the open🐓 enrollment period for ACA plans, which runs Nov. 1 through Jan. 15. (You'll need to sign up by Dec. 15 to be covered Jan. 1.)

You can cancel your ACA coverage at any time if you find you no longer need coverage. While premiums may appear cheaper for STHI, most people get 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:subsidies for ACA plans that can lower Obamacare premiums dramatically.

New Rules for STHI

People typically buy short-term health insurance plans to help cover specific gaps, such as when they are between jobs, when they’ve left a college health plan and are looking for a job, or after they’ve left a job and are waiting for 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Medicare coverage to start.

Before September, you could buy a short-term health insurance plan that covered you for up to 12 months and could be renewed or extended for𓆉 up to 36 months. These consecutive short-term health insurance plans were sold via “stacking,” which allowed insurers to issue you multiple policies during a 12-month period. However, these types of plans are no longer available under the new rules. 

Here are the differencesꦆ in short-term coverage durations allowed in ܫ2024 and 2025.

In some states, choices are already more limited. In Oregon, you can only buy plans lasting up to three months total. State restrictions also limit any short-term plan availability in other states, including California and Washington. 

Disclosure Requirement

Starting in 2025, short-term health insurance carriers must provide clearer explanations regarding the plan’s coverage, how it compares to ACA plans, and how the coverage works. The goal is to help less-aware consumers understand the differences between the more limited short-term insurance plans and more comprehensive ACA coverage.

Here are some of those differences.

What to Do if You’re in a Short-Term Plan Now

If you bought a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:short-term health insurance policy before Aug. 31, 2024, your plan’s initial term could still run up to 364 days (depe🐻nding on your plan and state). You’ll still have the ♏option to renew for a total duration of up to 36 months. 

But if you know your plan will expire in 2025, the easiest way to avoid going without coverage is to use 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:open enrollment for a Marketplace plan by Dec. 15. That’s the last ♓day to enroll for a plan that starts Jan. 1, 2025. Then, cancel your short-term plan on Dec. 31. 

Due to new rules, if your stacked plan or a plan you bought after August 31, 2024 expires in 2025, you may face a challenging situation getting coverage before the next open enrollment period starts in November 2025. To qualify for a Marketplace 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:special enrollment period (SEP), your lost health coverage must be considered “澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:minimum essential coverage.” Unlike workplace, Marke🌺tplace, and Medicaid plans🍸, short-term plans don’t fall under this definition. 

Your only option would be to sign up for a short-term plan offered by a different insurer, unaffiliated with your current plan. After that plan expires, if you still need coverage, you could buy yet another new plan. This strategy would require one or more new carriers, so you’ll want to see if other short-term insurance carriers are available in 🔯your area𓂃. 

Some (now disallowed) multi-year-renewable plans offered coverage for pre꧒existing conditions after the first year. However, when switchinꦬg to a new carrier, a preexisting condition could leave you without insurance if the carrier denies coverage or claims. 

“If a person loses coverage but can't get on the Marketplace, they may have no choice but to go without,” said Joshua Brooker, a member of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP).

“If they are an employer, they may be able to set up a group benefits plan for their company, but there are limits to t🌜hat as well.”

What to Do If You Need Short-Term Coverage 

Now

If you need♛ coverage righ💧t now, you may want to buy a short-term plan to cover you until the end of the year, but also take advantage of open enrollment to get an ACA plan for however long you need it after that. You have from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15 to buy an ACA plan that will start Jan. 1.

You can buy short-term healt🌱h insurance anytime. As in the past, you don’t need to wait for an open enrollment period for short-term insurance. The plan may be able to take effect the day after the insurer receives your applicౠation. You can also cancel your plan at any time.

After Jan. 15, 2025

If you find yourself needing short-term coverage after Jan. 15, your options are different. Let’s say you lose your job and your employer's health coverage in February 2025. In the past, a short-term health insurance plan of 10 months would’ve provided coverage until the next ACA open enrollment period. 

But ♐with the new rules, a plan you buy in February can only last four months, meaning it will expire in June. If you want ꧅ACA coverage after that, you’d need to wait until the next open enrollment period on Nov. 1, with coverage not beginning until Jan. 1, 2026. 

In this case, it might be better to skip short-term health insurance coverage after you lose your employer coverage and opt for the ACA’s special enrollment period, which would allow you to enroll due to your job loss, which is considered a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:qualifying event. You can also cancel ACA coverage at any time.

Future of Short-Term Health Insurance

The rules about short-term health insurance have ping-ponged between administrations in recent years. Under President Trump, the plans were allowed to be sold🔥 for initial terms of 12 months, with renewals that could extend the coverage for a total of 36 months.

The Biden administration introduced the latest STHI rules in March, which took effect in September. Depending on who sits in the White House in🐼 2025, these rules may change again.