• Short Term Health Insurance Blog

  • Wednesday, May 16, 2012



Pre-certification is an essential part of availing the benefits of the short term health insurance plan that you purchase. This means that you have to notify the insurance company before you get admitted into a hospital for a non-emergency condition. Failure to do this may mean that you will get only half the amount of the medical expenses.

For example, let's say you had a pretty nasty fall and though there are no outward signs of injury, you consult a doctor, who suggests an immediate scan. The scan indicates that the pain in your leg needs to be treated. The doctor recommends you that you come in for a couple of days for treatment, which will then be followed by physiotherapy.

You need to inform the insurance company in advance that you will be getting admitted into the hospital for the time that the doctor has specified. The advance period specified depends on the plan chosen--some require the treatment to be pre-certified not less than 10 days in advance.

In case of an emergency situation, you need to notify the insurance company within 48 hours after getting admitted (or whenever reasonably possible). The hospital administration usually reminds a patient about insurance in such cases. Pre-certification, however, does not mean that you are guaranteed of the benefits.


Quitting a job can be traumatizing and unsettling, especially when you have been in a job for a long time and have become comfortable with the fringe benefits, especially medical insurance. A suitable short term health insurance plan can ably fill the insurance gap until you find your next job.

A medical insurance plan is one of the treasured benefits of a steady job. However, when you quit a job, for a better job or to take some time off, or if you have been let go, then the medical insurance plan that you had is withdrawn. The most common option given to you is COBRA insurance, but that can be a complicated process, and is not as cheap as the employer-sponsored plan.

You can purchase a short term medical insurance plan even before your two weeks' notice is up, which will ensure that there is no interruption in the coverage after you leave the office. The insurance plan will continue for the next six months or a year, by which time you will find another job. You can always renew the insurance plan after the plan period.

If you are leaving your job and your medical insurance is covered for another few days, then you can request for a date from when the medical coverage should start for the short term health insurance. Most plans stipulate that the effective period should not be more than 60 days after cessation of coverage.


It is perfectly natural to think that you might not be eligible for a short term health insurance plan just because you might have a pre-existing condition that is not covered under the insurance plan.

However, it may so happen that you have a medical condition that is an isolated condition for which you have been under treatment from some time. This does not mean that you are excluded from coverage by the short term insurance plan. For example, if you are undergoing treatment for a chronic disease like varicose veins, you might believe that you cannot be covered for anything. However, that is not true.

Though the pre-existing condition might not be covered, there are numbers of different diseases that can be covered by the insurance. Only the loss caused by the condition which you already have or for treatment of the condition will not be covered. Another important factor to remember is the look-back period. If the condition has not been treated for, or shown symptoms during, the look-back period, it is usually covered under the short term health insurance plan.

You are eligible for coverage from the age of 2 through 64, if you are not an expecting mother, father or planning on adopting. Also, you should not have another existing insurance from another company, even if it is for your pre-existing medical condition. There are, however, changes in the coverage of the pre-existing conditions from state to state and you need to examine the conditions before trying out your best option.


Yes, you can actually save money with short term health insurance if you plan well and intelligently before and after purchasing an insurance policy. Remember that planning and knowledge are two tools to help you make the most of any insurance plan.

The first step is to carefully weigh your options and requirements to choose a plan that will suit you. For example, in several plans, you can make a one-time payment for a period of 5 months and avail of the 20% discount in the insurance premium right away.

Next, within this period, let's say you need to visit a doctor for a minor problem. You can go to approved doctors in the preferred provider network of the plan and avail of the discount that they provide. If there is no network provider in the area, the insurance company will help you by trying to get a negotiation with a doctor in your area.

You can also save money by choosing the right deductible for you. If you are confident that you might not be in any danger of a major illness during the period of the insurance and are prepared to pay higher amount of initial contribution, you can go for the lower premiums. This would mean, however, that you will have to pay higher initial amount if you do become sick or injured.


Short term health insurance is seen as covering all emergency hospitalizations and treatment. It is often a rude shock after the medical bill comes, to see that the short term insurance plan you purchase does not cover your expenses. You feel cheated and angry that you were not told about this before. Or did not pay attention to it.

All insurance plans carry detailed plans where every clause is clearly stated. However, most people have no patience to read the fine print. For example, if you go on a high-risk adventure sport (even motorcycle riding is considered high risk in most plans) without taking the special coverage required for this, you will not be eligible for medical expenses that might arise out of it.

Alcohol or drug dependency, dental or cosmetic surgery, learning disorders, conditions resulting from war, treatment for varicose veins, maternity and treatment for new-born babies before discharge, spinal manipulation or adjustment, and treatment of foot conditions are all usually excluded from coverage of short term health insurance.

It should be noted that each state and each policy might have a different set of treatments that are not covered and it makes sense to study them before buying the policy. There is always support available, so that you talk to a person from the insurance company before taking a decision.


Short term health insurance gives you many options for payment and planning so that you are able to decide and select the best plan for your situation. By being in control, you can ensure that you plan and get the best out of the policy that you are choosing.

Take this scenario: You have just got a new job, but have taken a month off for personal reasons before starting work there. After you join, there are several other formalities and it may take time to process health coverage for you. If all this works to around 4 months, say, you can pay one time and save yourself 20% on the short term health insurance premium.

Take another scenario: You have joined a new company, where you have to immediately leave to a different city for an unspecified time. You don’t know how long that will be and you might not be able to follow up with the office for you permanent insurance with the new job.

The ideal solution here would be to take a short term insurance plan such as Secure Saver and start paying by the month. When you get your employer-sponsored health insurance plan, you can immediately stop the payment.

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