What changes are coming for Short Term Medical Health Insurance?
If you have health insurance that is not an ACA (aka Obamacare, Affordable Care Act, Marketplace), Medicare, or a group plan, then the chances are high that you have an STM (short-term medical) health insurance plan also known as a Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance (STLDI) plan.
On March 28, 2024, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury released final rules regarding short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) and independent, non-coordinated excepted benefits coverage.
The Biden administration’s new rules say that beginning September 1, 2024, health insurance carriers may only offer short-term health plans in 90-day (with the possibility of another 30 days) increments. You may continue to enroll in 182-day and 364-day plans through August 31, 2024, but those plans will no longer be allowed beginning September 1, 2024.
How do the changes impact you?
STM/STLDI policies currently in effect, or that are sold and issued before August 31, 2024, are not affected by this new rule. If you have an STM plan that expires after August 30th, 2024, you may be unable to renew your plan for longer than three or four months.
What Short Term Medical Plans are available after this change?
Simply put, current STM clients can keep their current plans and wait until they expire to choose new insurance options. However, it may be wiser to switch to a 2 or 3-year plan before August 31st, 2024, so you are guaranteed to have longer coverage.
The Insurance Solutions Experts (TiSE) is recommending that our clients meet with us July or August to look at 2-3 year options, which will allow you to lock in STM coverage for the next 2–3 years.
Once enrolled, you may cancel the new plans at any time, but once canceled you will not have the ability to enroll longer plans in a new STM plan after August 30th 2024. You can also look at 2025 ACA plans, which will begin on January 1st. An additional alternative could be to consider Shared Plans. Our agency can help with any of these options.
After August 30th, 2024 we hope to have additional solutions to these changes. However, we prefer to help as many people as possible BEFORE August 31st so they have access to plans that can renew for 2–3 years.
Please reach out to us, so we can help you choose the best option to meet your needs and budget. You can schedule an appointment with Shane by going to www.calendly.com/Shaneismyagent