Between jobs? Missed open enrollment? Waiting for other coverage to start? Short-term medical plans exist for exactly these moments. Arizona and Alabama arrive at their duration rules from completely different directions, and both now allow far longer terms than the 2024 federal rule contemplated. These plans still come with real limitations you need to understand before you buy.
What short-term plans are, and what they are not
A short-term plan is temporary coverage designed to bridge a gap. Premiums are usually much lower than ACA plans. Here is the tradeoff, stated plainly: short-term plans are not ACA-compliant comprehensive coverage. Insurers can review your health history and decline you. Pre-existing conditions are typically excluded. Benefits like maternity, mental health, and prescriptions are often limited or missing entirely, and many plans cap what they will pay. If you get seriously sick on a short-term plan, you can face bills an ACA plan would have covered.
The rules in Alabama
Alabama has no short-term duration rule of its own, so it defaults to the federal rule. The 2024 federal rule, which limits a short-term policy to three months with renewal to four months total, is still on the books. What changed is enforcement: a tri-agency statement dated August 7, 2025, issued under Executive Order 14219, announced that the agencies would not prioritize enforcement of that rule.
Carriers responded by resuming sales of long-duration short-term policies. Alabama plans now commonly run up to 364 days per term, with renewals to roughly 36 months in total. None of that changes what these plans are: the health screening, pre-existing condition exclusions, and benefit caps still apply for the full term, however long it runs. And this area of regulation has changed repeatedly, so confirm the current rules before you rely on a long-duration plan.
The rules in Arizona
Arizona got to the same place by a different route. The state's insurance department clarified in late 2025 (Arizona DIFI Bulletin 2025-12) that insurers were no longer bound by the 2024 federal limit, and carriers returned to selling short-term policies with durations up to 36 months. Longer availability does not change what these plans are: the health screening, pre-existing condition exclusions, and benefit caps still apply for the full term. And this area of regulation has changed twice in three years, so check the current rules before relying on a long-duration plan.
When a short-term plan makes sense
- You are between jobs and new employer coverage starts within a few months.
- You missed open enrollment, have no qualifying event, and need something until the next enrollment window.
- You are healthy, understand the exclusions, and are deliberately choosing lower premiums over full protection.
Check this first: you may qualify for real coverage right now
Losing job-based coverage is a qualifying life event that opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on the ACA Marketplace in both states. That gets you full, ACA-compliant coverage that cannot decline you or exclude pre-existing conditions, and depending on income, premium tax credits may bring the cost closer to a short-term plan than you would expect. Always check this door before settling for temporary coverage.
Rounding out a gap: dental and vision
Dental and vision coverage is sold separately from medical in the individual market, and standalone plans are inexpensive in both Arizona and Alabama. If you are bridging a gap, or you bought a Marketplace plan without dental, adding a standalone policy is usually a quick fix. These plans are also not tied to open enrollment, so you can add them any time of year.