Find a short-term health insurance plan in Delaware
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Availability of short-term health insurance in Delaware
Delaware regulations limit the duration of temporary health insurance plans to three months
Since December 2018, state regulations have limited short-term health insurance in Delaware to three months. Short-term plans cannot be renewed or extended, and an insurer cannot issue a new policy to the same applicant more than once in a year. Successive back-to-back plans are also prohibited. Also, short-term health insurance in Delaware must have loss ratios of at least 60%.
As of 2026, at least three insurers were offering short-term plans in Delaware.
The Trump administration announced in August 2025 that it would no longer prioritize enforcement of a federal rule that took effect in 2024, limiting short-term policies to total durations of no more than four months.1 But that federal rule had never applied in Delaware, since the state has its own rules that cap short-term policies at three months and prohibit renewals. So nothing has changed since 2018 in Delaware in terms of short-term health insurance duration rules.
Frequently asked questions about short-term health insurance in Delaware
Is short-term health insurance available for purchase in Delaware?
Yes. At least three insurers offer short-term health insurance in Delaware, with a total duration of up to three months.
Which short-term plan durations are permitted under Delaware rules?
The state’s regulations, which took effect in December 2018, limit short-term plans to three months and prohibit renewals. Insurers are also not allowed to offer successive back-to-back short-term plans to the same policyholder, and a new short-term plan can’t be sold to the same person more than once in a given year.2
Who can buy short-term health insurance in Delaware?
Short-term health insurance in Delaware can be purchased by residents who meet the underwriting guidelines of insurers. This generally means being under 65 years old and not having a medical condition that will result in a declined application.3 But the specific requirements are set by the insurance company that offers the coverage.
Short-term health insurance plans usually include blanket exclusions 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).4
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),3 and impose dollar limits on the coverage they do provide.
So it’s important to read all of the plan details before purchasing a short-term policy, to make sure that you understand the limitations of the plan.
If you need health insurance in Delaware, check first to see if you can enroll in an ACA-compliant major medical plan. Open enrollment for these plans runs from November 1 to December 15 each year; during this window, nearly anyone can purchase an individual/family plan. You can go to HealthCare.gov to buy these plans.
Outside the open enrollment window, you may be eligible for a special enrollment period that would allow you to enroll in an ACA-compliant plan. Most special enrollment periods are linked to specific qualifying life events, but American Indians and Alaska Natives can enroll year-round without a qualifying life event.
During open enrollment or a special enrollment period, you can buy a plan through the health insurance exchange in Delaware – with a premium subsidy if you’re eligible.
Premium subsidies make the monthly premiums much less costly than they would otherwise be. They’re provided based on your total household income (an ACA-specific calculation) for the year, and have to be reconciled on your tax return each year.
Marketplace plans are purchased on a month-to-month basis, so you can enroll even if you only need coverage for a few months before another policy takes effect – for example, if you’ll be enrolling in Medicare soon, or you’re newly employed and will have coverage under your employer’s plan after a waiting period is over.
Depending on your income, you might be eligible for Medicaid in Delaware.
When should I consider buying short-term health insurance in Delaware?
The Delaware Department of Insurance warns consumers to “beware of non-compliant alternative health plans,” including short-term health insurance.5
However, there are times when a short-term health insurance plan might be the only realistic option, such as:
- If you missed open enrollment for ACA-compliant individual market coverage (i.e., Obamacare) or your employer’s healthcare plan, and do not have a qualifying event that would trigger a special enrollment period. Note that under Delaware rules, your short-term policy will only be able to provide coverage for three months.
- You’ll soon be enrolled in Medicare and don’t have access to another source of coverage in the meantime.
- You’re newly employed and your employer has a waiting period of up to three months before you can join the group health plan.
- You’ve enrolled in a plan through the Marketplace in Delaware, but are waiting for it to take effect.
- If you’re not eligible for Medicaid or a premium subsidy in the exchange, the monthly premiums for an ACA-compliant plan might simply be too costly. This includes people who do not have lawfully present residency status in the U.S., since Medicaid and enrollment in the exchange (even at full price) are not available to people who aren’t lawfully present.
How has Delaware historically regulated short-term health insurance?
Until October 2, 2018, federal regulations limited short-term health insurance plans to no more than three months in duration, and prohibited renewals. The first Trump administration began allowing for much longer short-term plans as of October 2018, unless a state imposed its own restrictions.
The Biden administration approved much stricter regulations, which took effect in September 2024, limiting short-term plans to total durations of no more than four months. But since Delaware already had even stricter requirements – with total duration capped at no more than three months2 – the state’s rules continued to apply. And that is still the case in 2026, even though the second Trump administration announced in 2025 that it would not prioritize enforcement of the Biden administration’s short-term health insurance rule.
New state regulations for short-term health insurance in Delaware were published in November 2018, and took effect on December 1, limiting short-term plans to three months in duration and prohibiting renewals.2
Delaware’s regulations were issued as emergency regulations, effective until March 31, 2019. That gave the state time to draft and implement permanent regulations for short-term health plans, which it did in January 2019. At that point, the permanent regulations took the place of the emergency order, although the provisions were identical.2
Additional state regulations for short-term health insurance in Delaware go beyond simply restricting the duration of the plans. Under Delaware’s regulations:2
- Short-term plans must have loss ratios of at least 60% (meaning total covered medical benefits divided by total premiums must be at least 0.6)
- If an applicant is replacing other health coverage with a short-term policy, the insurer or agent must provide them with an extensive notice about the limitations of short-term medical plans and the ins and outs of replacing other coverage with a short-term plan.
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Footnotes
- “Statement of U.S. Department of Labor, Health & Human Services, and the Treasury Regarding Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Aug. 7, 2025 ⤶
- “1320 Minimum Standards for Short-Term, Limited Duration Health Insurance Plans” Delaware Department of Insurance. Accessed Apr. 6, 2026 ⤶ ⤶ ⤶ ⤶ ⤶
- “Examining Short-Term Limited-Duration Health Plans on the Eve of ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment” KFF.org. Oct. 15, 2025 ⤶ ⤶
- “Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance and Independent, Noncoordinated Excepted Benefits Coverage” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. April 3, 2024 ⤶
- “Limited Benefit Health Plan Information” Delaware Department of Insurance. Accessed Apr. 6, 2026 ⤶
