Let’s start with the one that surprises most everyone: Temporary Medical (Short Term) insurance can cost half as much as Obamacare and COBRA plans. This is especially true for those who don’t qualify for financial tax subsidies on the ACA exchanges. The reason it’s less expensive is because it’s not meant to be a substitute for traditional long-term health insurance. In other words, you won’t get as many benefits with Short Term as you would with Obamacare or COBRA. However, depending on your situation, it just may have the right amount of coverage you need.

In addition to reduced cost of premiums, you’ll also find that you may have more healthcare options than with other programs. For starters, there is no Open Enrollment with Temporary medical insurance. Instead, you apply when it’s best for you.

Temporary medical insurance also lets you customize your length of coverage – from 30 to 360¹ days in many states. There are even some plans that offer coverage up to 3 years. Plus, with many Short Term health insurance plans, you can cancel at any time and be refunded the premium you haven’t used. So Temporary insurance may be less expensive up front, but you pay only for what you need going forward.

Best of all, many Temporary medical insurance plans give you the freedom to choose the doctors and hospitals you want to visit. Unlike plans you may find on the ACA exchanges, Short Term insurance plans generally have much larger networks that likely include doctors you already use.

When you add it all up, it’s easy to see why Temporary insurance is becoming so popular. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office is projecting that 2 million people will have Short Term policies by 2023.²