By now you’ve seen Short Term Medical (STM) mentioned a few times and I am sure many of you are wondering what this is exactly. STM is ideal for protection against out-of-pocket costs in case of unexpected injury or hospitalization. These plans are not to be used as a substitute for regular long-term health insurance, but are a great alternative to no coverage. Prior to October 2018 plans were limited in length, but now offer more flexibility. Each plan lasts for a defined term of up to 364 days and is renewable for up to 36 months depending on your state.
These plans typically won’t cover your routine office visits, maternity, mental health or preventative care and most plans don’t cover prescription drugs unless hospitalized. However, STM policies do cover a range of physician services, surgery, out and inpatient care. Also, policyholders can in most cases choose their own doctor and hospital without restrictions. To be blunt about it STM plans are cheaper because they provide less coverage.
So why are we talking about this and why is this being applied to you? We’re talking about this because if you’re choosing between a short-term plan or being uninsured, a short-term plan is 100% better than going without any coverage. Period.
The option to purchase a STM will depend on your state. A number of states have banned short-term policies, and a number of others restrict policies. Again these are not meant to replace any long-term health policies, they are simply to help keep you safe while you figure shit out.
This type of health insurance doesn’t work for everyone but there really is no one size fits all answer. We want to make sure everyone knows what their options are when they feel like they don’t have any. If one call could give you peace of mind until Open Enrollment in November, what do you have to lose?
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