Availability of short-term health insurance in Alabama

Yes. At least six insurers offer short-term health insurance in Alabama in 2026.

Alabama does not impose its own duration limits on short-term policies, so the state defaults to federal rules.

In 2024, the Alabama Department of Insurance published Bulletin 2024-02,³ informing insurers about the need to comply with the 2024 federal rules for short-term health insurance, which included capping policies at no more than four months in total duration.

But in 2025, the Alabama Department of Insurance rescinded Bulletin 2024-02.⁴ So when the Trump administration stopped enforcing the 2024 federal rule, insurers resumed offering short-term health insurance with total durations of up to 36 months (including renewals), in line with the 2018 rules that had been in place prior to the 2024 rule, even though the 2024 rule has not been formally rescinded by the federal government.

The Alabama Department of Insurance also reminds consumers that short-term plans should only be used to fill short gaps between other plans, are not considered minimum essential coverage, generally use medical underwriting (meaning medical history is a factor in eligibility), and do not have to cover the ACA’s essential health benefits. The page also has a side-by-side comparison of the coverage requirements for ACA-compliant plans versus short-term medical plans.⁵

Short-term health insurance in Alabama can be purchased by residents who can meet the underwriting guidelines of insurers.

In general, people can qualify for short-term health plans if they’re under 65 years old (some insurers will only issue plans to people who are under 64 years of age) and do not have any of the short list of medical conditions that will result in a declined application.⁶ But the specific requirements vary from one insurance company to another.

Short-term health insurance plans tend to exclude coverage for pre-existing conditions, and they often use post-claims underwriting (meaning that they will go back through a person’s medical records after a claim is filed, to make sure it isn’t related to a pre-existing medical condition).⁷

Short-term health plans also generally exclude coverage for some of the ACA’s essential health benefits – most commonly, maternity care, prescription drugs, and mental health care.⁶⁵ They also tend to impose dollar limits on the coverage they provide. It’s important to double-check all of the plan information before purchasing a short-term policy, to make sure that you understand the limitations of the plan.

If you need health insurance in Alabama outside of the annual open enrollment period for ACA-compliant coverage, your first step should be to check if you’re eligible for a special enrollment period that would allow you to purchase an ACA-compliant major medical plan.

There are a variety of qualifying life events that trigger a special enrollment period. The Marketplace plans are purchased on a month-to-month basis – meaning you can terminate the coverage at any time – so you can enroll even if you only need coverage for a few months before another policy takes effect (with a premium subsidy if you’re eligible).

Marketplace plans in Alabama are purchased via HealthCare.gov.

From Mobile to Birmingham, there may be times when it’s impossible to enroll in an ACA-compliant health plan. In those scenarios, a short-term health insurance could be an appropriate option for you, such as:

• If you missed open enrollment for ACA-compliant individual health plans or your employer’s healthcare plan, and do not have a qualifying life event that would trigger a special enrollment period.
• You’ve lost coverage from an employer and can’t afford COBRA or an ACA-compliant plan in the Marketplace to bridge the gap until you’re employed again at a job that will provide health benefits. The Alabama Department of Insurance notes that short-term plans are a potential temporary solution in this situation, but they caution that the plans are not the same sort of coverage that’s provided by ACA-compliant plans available through HealthCare.gov.
• Because Alabama is one of the states where Medicaid still has not been expanded under the ACA, most adults with income below the poverty level are not eligible for financial assistance with their health insurance in Alabama. People in the resulting coverage gap might be able to afford temporary coverage under a short-term health insurance policy.
• You’ll soon be enrolled in Medicare, don’t have other coverage in place until then, and do not qualify for a special enrollment period that would allow you to purchase an ACA-compliant plan to cover you until your Medicare takes effect. But if your Medicare coverage won’t take effect until after the start of the next year, you can switch to an ACA-compliant plan through HealthCare.gov during the fall/winter open enrollment period, and keep that plan from January 1 until the month your Medicare takes effect.
• The average full-price (unsubsidized) cost of Marketplace coverage in Alabama was $743/month in 2026.⁸ Most Marketplace enrollees were eligible for subsidies that covered the majority of this cost. But if you’re not eligible for a premium subsidy in the Marketplace, the affordability of a Marketplace plan will depend on your budget. People ineligible for premium subsidies include:
  • Those who earn more than 400% of the federal poverty level aren’t eligible for an ACA subsidy. For a single person enrolling in 2026 coverage, this limit amounts to $62,600 in annual income.⁹
  • Those who earn less than the poverty level ($15,960 for a single person in 2026¹⁰) are also not eligible for subsidies. And because Alabama has refused to expand Medicaid, these individuals are typically also not eligible for Medicaid and thus caught in the coverage gap.
  • People who are not lawfully present in the U.S. and thus not eligible to enroll in a plan through the Marketplace.