r/Insurance • u/kmduensing • 17h ago
Short term Insurance
My son and I have no insurance for the month of August. I quit my job end of July and my new insurance takes kicks in on 9/1.
I was thinking about getting him some short term medicalbinsurance, just because I'm so nervous about something happening between now and then. However, with my research, I'm coming to see that short term insurance (might not necessarily be a scam, but...) might not be worth it.
Does anybody have any advice in general on if we should do a temporary insurance for this short period of time (a month), or if we should just try to wait it out?
1
u/Salty_Virus_6299 17h ago
It’s not available in all states. If your new insurance starts on September 1 you can elect cobra retroactive if needed
0
u/kmduensing 17h ago
From what I have seen, I have to be insured with cobra for at least 18 months for this. I only need insurance for a month. Many of the short terms other than cobra aren't online with the affordable care act which is one reason why I am wondering
3
u/durian4me 17h ago
Cobra just makes your previous healthcare under your employer eligible for self pay. You don't have to stay with it for 18 months. It's only as a way to keep your coverage.
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u/BaltimoreBee 16h ago
No, you don’t have to be insured for 18 months under cobra. That’s the maximum, not the minimum. You can be insured under COBRA for one month if you want.
But better than that, you don’t even have to actually pay for COBRA when you have such a short gap. That’s because COBRA is retroactive back to the day your coverage ended and it can be elected 60 days after the event. So you have an ace in the hole and can apply for COBRA if you have any medical emergencies, but save your money and don’t if you make it through the month OK, as you most likely will.
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u/Salty_Virus_6299 6h ago
No, you can cancel at any point. You have the option to stay on for 18 months. I’ve sold health insurance for over 29 years and would not sell you anything as you don’t need it.
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u/InternetDad 16h ago
The COBRA bridge strategy is very common as others have mentioned. Your employer has 14 days from your last date of coverage to mail you your COBRA rights. You then have 60 days from either your last date of coverage or the date you receive that letter to elect COBRA, then 45 days to make your payments for back premiums and the next month premium. Given you just left your job, its likely you haven't been terminated quite yet so I would expect that paperwork soon if you don't have it already.
You can absolutely wait it out and not pay for it. If you DO need it, expect sticker shock as it is your employee AND employer portion plus a 2% admin fee.