Best Florida Short Term Health Insurance

Quick Look: Best Florida Short Term Health Insurance

• Best for Same Day Coverage: UnitedHealthcare
• Best for Comparing Plans: eHealth Insurance
• Best for Comparing Short-Term Health Plans: Pivot Health
• Best for:Anybody Who Needs Temporary Health Insurance: Everest Insurance
• Best for Large Network Access and Flexible Plans: National General

There’s been some big changes to Florida’s short term health insurance laws these past few months. Starting in June 2019, the state is not limiting the duration of short term health insurance plans and has removed the state limits that previously applied to preexisting health conditions.

The lack of regulations on Florida short term health insurance makes 2022 the perfect time for a healthy individual looking for low premiums, but remember that these short term plans don’t need to cover the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s 10 essential benefits. While this makes the plans cheaper and sometimes more personalized, it also means higher out-of-pocket expenses and a possible lack of covered services. Let’s take a look at how you can find the right short term health insurance for you and your family. 

Best Florida Short Term Health Insurance

With short term health insurance laws being lax in Florida, almost every major insurance company offers short term health options. While 6 months is usually the limit, many limited plans were offered up to 12 months even before the rules changed, including renewals of up to 3 years. Here’s some of the best short term health insurance options in the state. 

1. Best Overall: UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare has an extensive amount of options for people looking for short term health insurance. The insurance company offers 4 overall plans, including Plus Elite (predictable out-of-pocket costs), Copay/Direct (doctor visit support), Plus/Direct (balanced after-deductible costs) and Value/Direct (lower premiums). Plans range from 1 to 12 months and have a variety of lifetime maximum benefit options. Children can be under their parents’ short term health insurance plans until 30 years old. 

Many of these options are also really affordable. Some plans under UnitedHealthcare can be as low as $80 per month, depending on your age, gender and healthcare needs. 

UnitedHealthcare is also widely accepted, with over 1.3 million health care professionals and 6,000 facilities accepting this company’s short term health insurance. Virtual visits and dental and vision plans ensure UnitedHealthcare has a wide variety of plans and options that make it the right fit for almost everyone. 

2. Best for price comparison: eHealth Insurance

eHealth Insurance isn’t a health insurance provider, but this is one resource you’ll want to use in your search for short term health insurance. It can get a bit overwhelming trying to research every company, keeping track of prices, deductibles and premiums.

With eHealth Insurance, all you have to do is enter some basic information, including your age, gender, tobacco usage, location and dependents. From there, you can select prices and other filters, leaving you with a list of providers all in one place that makes the most sense for your situation. They’ll show you the cheapest, most popular, and every other plan, comparing monthly cost, deductible and policy max. You can even select 2 plans and compare them more closely once you’ve narrowed down your search. 

3. Best for Custom Plans: Pivot Health

Short term health insurance sometimes isn’t the best option for people who know they’ll be seeing the doctor a handful of times or undergoing tests and procedures, thanks to its high out-of-pocket expenses. Pivot offers a variety of plans that help with those payments by offering fixed rates on a variety of services, from hospitalization to critical illness insurance.

By paying an extra amount per month, you will have fixed amounts when you stay at a hospital, get in an accident or are diagnosed with a serious illness. 

4. Best for Customer Satisfaction and Support: Everest Insurance

Everest Insurance has little negative press or reviews online, currently showing a B+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. This insurer immediately prompts customers to contact the vice president to get more information about its short term health insurance options, making the agents feel more accessible than at some larger organizations.

Everest Insurance also has an easy-to-use online account that allows you to track your invoices and pay policyholders. 

5. Best for Dental Insurance: National General

National General offers 2 short term dental insurance plans that both provide access to the Careington Maximum Care Dental Network. Its PPO plan helps patients save an average of 40% on dental care, sometimes cutting the price of procedures in half.

It offers 3 different benefit levels and all don’t require a waiting period for preventive care, including examinations, cleanings and X-rays. National General’s Dental Indemnity plan provides set benefits for your preventive care treatments, as well as for your spouse and children. 

Florida Health Insurance Laws

Here are a few quick facts about Florida’s health insurance laws: 

• Under the ACA, health insurance is technically mandatory, but Florida has not passed any laws going into 2020 that will penalize citizens for not having health insurance. Of course, not having health insurance is never recommended. Check out some affordable health insurance plans here if you’re still on the hunt. 
• Young adults in Florida must remain on their parents’ or guardians’ health insurance plan until the dependent is 26 years old. 
• Florida has no law in place that requires employers to offer group healthcare insurance to their employees. However, companies that provide health insurance must cover certain benefits. 

Going into 2020, Florida rejected federal funding to expand Medicaid, resulting in a Medicaid coverage gap. This has resulted in low-income households not automatically becoming eligible for Medicaid. They’re also ineligible for premium subsidies. Still, the state is one of 17 fighting to invalidate the ACA. 

Over 1.7 million people enrolled in plans through the Florida exchange during 2019’s open enrollment, the highest enrollment of any state in the country. Florida also has very high individual market enrollment, with 12% covered by individual market plans. That’s double the nation’s average. 

In 2020, there will be a 1.2% rate increase in the state’s individual market. 

In 2021, that number rose to 6.6%.

In 2022, the crisis deepened and premiums rose almost 11%.

What is Short Term Health Insurance? 

Even though Florida doesn’t require health insurance, we think you’ve made the right choice by continuing to learn more about health insurance options. 

Short term health insurance, sometimes referred to as short term medical insurance, is a temporary health insurance plan that can usually start the day after you sign up. Most short term health insurance plans last about 6 months, but insurance companies in Florida have been going beyond that time frame even before the laws changed. 

Who Needs Short Term Health Insurance?

Short term health insurance plans are ideal for healthy individuals since they often come with high out-of-pocket costs. That’s the downside to low premiums, unfortunately. For this reason, short term health insurance is best used for, well, the short term. 

Many individuals who sign up for these insurance plans do so because of a lapse in coverage. This can be due to a lot of factors:

Unemployment: More often than not, people opt to get their health insurance plans through their employers. Unfortunately, being laid off or having to leave a job for one reason or another will lead to a loss in that coverage. While searching for a new job, many unemployed people turn to short term health insurance for a cost-effective alternative. 

Turning 26: Young adults can be under their parents’ or guardians’ health insurance plans until they’re 26. After that, you’re left on your own trying to figure out the world of deductibles and copays. Other young adults may lose student health insurance plans after graduation, leaving them in need of a quick alternative. 

Big life changes: Sometimes things just happen. Divorce. Moving to another state. All of these big events in your life can lead to needing coverage. And sometimes you need it ASAP. That’s often where short term health insurance comes in to make life a little bit easier. 

When Can You Enroll for Short Term Health Insurance?

You can purchase short term health insurance plans any time of the year, even outside open enrollment. If you have any questions about how to enroll for short term health insurance, check out our guide on how to get health insurance. 

Where Can You Enroll for Short Term Health Insurance? 

At Benzinga of course! Getting a quote online is super simple. Just enter some basic personal information and you’ll be able to compare plans and quotes that make the most sense for you. From there, head over to your insurance provider’s website to enroll. 

Florida: The Final Frontier of Short Term Health Insurance

Florida has some of the most lenient short term healthcare laws in the U.S., with no limitations on duration and preexisting health conditions. Because of this, the Sunshine State has many short term health insurance options, some with impressive benefits. 

With low monthly payments and high out-of-pocket expenses, remember that short term health insurance is most often needed when you’re between jobs, waiting to be approved for ACA, or if it’s between open enrollments. Rest easy knowing that you can be insured just hours after being approved for a short term health insurance plan. 

Frequently Asked Questions