Availability of short-term health insurance in Florida

Yes. As of early 2026, there were at least six insurers offering short-term health insurance in Florida, but this number tends to fluctuate over time.

Florida statute allows short-term health insurance to have initial terms of less than 12 months, and total duration, including renewals, of up to 36 months.²

Starting in September 2024, federal rules were much stricter, limiting short-term plans to total durations of no more than four months. But after the federal government stopped prioritizing enforcement of that rule in August 2025, insurers in Florida are once again offering short-term policies with total durations of up to 36 months.

There is a wide range of options available in Florida. Some insurers do not offer renewals, and some limit their plans to no more than six or 12 months in total duration.

Short-term health insurance plans in Florida can be purchased by Floridians who can meet the underwriting guidelines used by insurers.

In general, people can qualify for short-term health plans if they’re under 65 years old and do not have a specific medical condition that will result in a declined application.³ But the underwriting rules vary from one insurance company to another.

Since short-term health insurance plans typically include blanket exclusions for pre-existing conditions, they are not adequate for someone who needs medical care for an existing condition and wants a policy that will cover the care required to treat that condition.

And short-term plans are not required to cover the ACA’s essential health benefits and are not considered minimum essential coverage under the ACA. It’s common to see these plans exclude coverage for maternity care, prescription drugs, and mental health care, although the healthcare benefits and limitations will vary considerably from one policy to another.³

So it’s important to carefully read all of the details before purchasing a short-term policy, to make sure that you understand the limitations of the plan.

Whether you live in Miami or in the suburbs outside Tampa, there may be times when short-term health insurance is your only realistic option for coverage. Common situations:

• You missed open enrollment for ACA-compliant individual-market coverage or your employer’s health plan, and do not qualify for a special enrollment period.
• You’re newly employed and your employer has a waiting period before you can enroll in the group healthcare plan. (Under the ACA, employers can impose waiting periods of up to 90 days before new employees can be eligible for coverage under the group health plan.)⁴
• You’ll soon be enrolled in Medicare but have no other health insurance options in the meantime.
• You’ve already enrolled in an ACA-compliant plan but have to wait up to several weeks before the insurance coverage takes effect. For example, if you enroll during open enrollment (Nov. 1 – Dec. 15 in most states), your new plan won’t take effect until Jan. 1. And if you sign up during a special enrollment period, you’ll generally have to wait until at least the start of the following month before your new plan is effective.
• You’re not eligible for Medicaid or a premium subsidy in the exchange. In that case, the full-price monthly premiums for an ACA-compliant plan might simply be too costly.

People who are ineligible for premium subsidies for ACA coverage through the Marketplace include:

• People caught in the coverage gap that exists because Florida has not accepted federal funding to expand Medicaid eligibility. (Here are some strategies for avoiding the coverage gap).

People who cannot enroll in a plan through the exchange because they are not lawfully present in the United States. (Lawfully present immigrants can enroll through the exchange and can receive premium subsidies, but people who are not lawfully present cannot do either.)