Availability of short-term health insurance in Washington, D.C.

As of 2026, there do not appear to be any short-term health insurance plans for sale in Washington, D.C.

The District sharply curtailed short-term plans in late 2018/early 2019, and most of the insurers that had been offering short-term plans exited the market at that point. One insurer, National General, was still selling short-term plans in the District of Columbia as of early 2020, but its products were no longer for sale as of 2021.

Prior to 2017, the DC Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB) posted a memo clarifying that short-term health insurance policies in Washington, D.C., had to last less than 365 days and were not regulated by the ACA. Starting in 2017, however, federal regulations (enacted by the Obama administration in 2016) began to limit short-term health plans to no more than three months and prohibited renewal. But the Trump administration relaxed those rules. For several weeks in late 2018 – until the District of Columbia enacted new legislation – the new federal rules applied, allowing insurers to offer longer short-term plans.

In May 2018, when it was clear that the Trump administration was planning to roll back the Obama-era restrictions on short-term plans, DC’s Standing Advisory Board unanimously recommended that the DC City Council implement rules to limit short-term health insurance plans to three months in duration and prohibit renewals. Without legislative action to limit the duration of short-term plans, an Urban Institute analysis had estimated that the expansion of short-term plans under the new federal rules would reduce the size of the District of Columbia’s ACA-compliant market by 30.5%.¹

At the October 2018 board meeting for DC’s health insurance exchange, the board noted that DC City Councilmember Vincent Gray had introduced legislation (Bill 22-1001)² that would limit short-term health insurance in Washington, D.C. to three months and prohibit renewals. The board noted that they supported the legislation.

Another piece of legislation, Bill B22-1020, was introduced after Gray’s legislation, and included additional provisions beyond those originally called for in Gray’s three-page bill. It’s notable that the text of B22-1020, in addition to limiting short-term plans to three months and prohibiting renewals, also prevents short-term plans from excluding coverage for pre-existing conditions or rejecting applicants based on pre-existing conditions.³ (Those provisions were subsequently added to Bill 22-1001 as well.)

Ultimately, B22-1020 was signed into law on December 10, 2018.⁴ It was an emergency bill, so while it took effect immediately, it was only in effect for 90 days. But that gave the City Council time to enact B22-1001, which is a permanent version of the same type of restrictions on short-term health insurance.

B22-1001 was approved by City Council and signed by Mayor Bowser in January 2019. It permanently limits short-term plans to three months, prevents renewals, prevents the sale of a short-term plan to a person whom the insurer had covered with another short-term plan within the previous nine months, and prevents the insurer from excluding any pre-existing conditions for which the applicant sought treatment in the prior 12 months. And such conditions cannot be used by the insurer to reject an application.

In addition to limiting short-term plans, both pieces of legislation also place limits on association health plans sold in DC.

There are several other states that limit short-term plans to three months and prohibit renewals. But the provision in B22-1020 blocking pre-existing condition exclusions goes farther than many other states. As of December 13, three days after the emergency legislation had been enacted, there were still at least six insurers selling short-term health insurance in the District with terms of up to a year. But by late January, that had dwindled to just one insurer. That continued to be the case in 2020, but that lone insurer was no longer offering plans for sale in DC as of 2021. And as of 2026, there continue to be no short-term policies for sale in DC.

Since short-term health insurance plans are not currently available in Washington, D.C., we recommend that you check to see if you’re eligible to enroll in an ACA-compliant individual-market plan.

These plans are available only through DC Health Link (the Marketplace/exchange in Washington, D.C.). They’re normally only available during open enrollment (a window that begins November 1 each year) or during a special enrollment period triggered by a qualifying life event.

Plans obtained through DC Health Link are purchased on a month-to-month basis, so you can enroll in coverage even for only a few months until another policy takes effect – and if you’re eligible, you may qualify for financial assistance in the form of a premium subsidy.

Medicaid has been expanded in DC, so it’s available to adults under age 65 if their household income isn’t more than 138% of the federal poverty level.⁵

DC also has a Basic Health Program, which is called Healthy DC. This program is for people whose income is too high for Medicaid, but not more than 200% of the federal poverty level.⁵

Yes. Since 2019, DC residents have been required by law to have qualifying health insurance coverage or to pay a penalty when filing a state tax return.⁶

The penalty is modeled on the federal penalty that was used until 2018, with a maximum penalty amount based on the average cost of a bronze plan in Washington, D.C.

There are no longer any short-term health plans for sale in Washington, D.C., but even if there were, they would not fulfill the District’s requirement that residents maintain minimum essential coverage.

Consumers in DC can buy ACA-compliant health insurance through a district-run exchange, DC Health Link. Two carriers offer individual/family coverage through the exchange in 2026. (Note that unlike the rest of the country, there is no “off-exchange” market in DC. Residents can only purchase individual/family coverage via the exchange in DC.)⁷

For DC residents with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level, Medicaid or Healthy DC (a Basic Health Program) might be available.