ValuePenguin puts the average short-term health plan at about $235 a month. In the same comparison, a regular ACA plan averages about $752 a month before subsidies. That gap is the entire sales pitch for short-term coverage, and it is real. What the price comparison leaves out is why the gap exists: the short-term plan covers much less, can refuse you, and can leave the biggest bills with you.
Short-term plans do not have to follow ACA rules. They can screen applicants for health conditions, exclude pre-existing conditions, skip benefits like maternity care, mental health treatment, and prescription drugs, and cap how much they pay out over the life of the policy. ACA plans cannot do any of that, and their annual out-of-pocket maximum, capped at $10,150 for an individual in 2026, limits your worst case. A short-term plan’s worst case can be far higher, or unlimited for an excluded condition.
The honest price comparison
Compare three numbers, not one. First, the premium: roughly $235 a month for short-term coverage against an unsubsidized ACA average in the $625 to $752 range depending on the benchmark you use, with KFF putting the 2026 benchmark silver plan at $625 a month for a 40-year-old. Second, the subsidized ACA price, because if your income qualifies for a premium tax credit, your ACA premium may land at or below the short-term price while keeping full protections. Short-term plans never qualify for credits. Third, the exposure: a hospitalization on a short-term plan with a high deductible and a benefit cap can cost you more than a year of premium savings in a single week.
Duration is the other number people miss. Federal rules finalized in 2024 limit short-term plans to three months plus a one-month renewal, four months total. Enforcement of that limit was paused by CMS in 2025, and states set their own rules on top, so in some states you will be offered much longer policies and in others, including several that ban or heavily restrict these plans, you will not find them at all. Check your state’s rules before you count on renewing. Our short-term health insurance guide covers what these plans include and exclude in detail.
When the cheaper price is a fair trade
Short-term coverage fits a narrow set of situations. You are healthy, you have a short and known gap, such as the weeks between a job ending and new employer coverage starting, and you mainly want protection against an accident or a sudden hospitalization during that window. You missed open enrollment, you have no qualifying life event, and going uninsured until the next enrollment period feels riskier than a limited plan. You are waiting for Medicare to start and need a bridge for a few months. In each case the plan is a bridge with an end date, bought with open eyes about the exclusions.
It is a poor trade when you have ongoing conditions, regular prescriptions, a pregnancy, or any planned care, because the plan can exclude exactly what you need. It is also a poor trade when a subsidized marketplace plan costs about the same, which happens more often than the marketing suggests for lower and middle incomes. Run the marketplace quote with your real income before you buy the cheaper-looking plan. If you lost a job recently, compare against COBRA too using our guide to splitting COBRA and marketplace coverage, since keeping one person on the old plan and putting everyone else on subsidized coverage sometimes beats both full COBRA and a short-term plan.
Prices are each insurer’s published rates for a healthy applicant. Your quote will differ by age, state, deductible, and health history, and two plans at the same premium can have very different caps and exclusions. Read the exclusions page before you pay. On a short-term plan, that page is the product.
