Short-term health insurance plans are intended to provide coverage for periods of time between 1-6 months. As such, short-term health insurance plans should never be used in place of standard health insurance plans. Only if you expect to receive permanent health insurance in the imminent future should you consider purchasing a short-term health insurance plan.

In most cases, short-term health insurance plans will only provide benefits in the case of unplanned visits to the hospital resulting from unexpected illness or accidental injury. Short-term health insurance plans will not cover costs associated with routine health care, preventive health care and immunizations or dental and eye care. Moreover, short-term health insurance plans provide health insurance coverage for a limited time frame and once that period has passed, it may be difficult to purchase additional, permanent health insurance plans depending on the condition of your health.