Many people find themselves without health insurance when they are between jobs or after they graduate from school.

Because health care costs are so high, people often grapple with how to obtain affordable health insurance during these gaps in coverage. As a result, some people turn to short term health insurance policies. A short term, or temporary, health insurance policy is better than going without coverage, but it typically offers relatively “bare bones” coverage. Before you buy such a policy, keep in mind the following: The Policy is Temporary. Short term health insurance policies provide coverage for a period of six months or less. They are not renewable. At the expiration of a short term policy the insurance company may sell you another short term policy. You may not be covered under short term policies more than 365 days out of any 555 day period. If you take out back-to-back short term policies, the insurance company will generally refuse to cover any pre-existing condition that occurred under your prior short term policy.

Beware of Pre-Existing Conditions.

Short term health insurance policies typically exclude as a preexisting condition any injury, illness, or condition for which you had medical treatment, symptoms, or any manifestations of illness before the effective date of coverage. This means that, even if you did not receive treatment from a physician before you took out the policy, the insurance company may refuse to cover a claim if you ever had symptoms before you took out the policy.

Major Medical Only.

People are sometimes attracted to short term health insurance policies because they may be more affordable than longer term policies. Keep in mind, however, that short term health insurance policies are generally intended to only cover major medical expenses. In addition to excluding coverage for preexisting conditions, such policies generally exclude coverage for services like preventive treatment (e.g. routine physical exams and immunizations), pregnancy or childbirth, transplants, treatment of mental illness or substance abuse, and the like. Policyholders must generally obtain treatment from an in-network provider in order to receive full benefits.