Help! I Lost My Health Insurance!

It can literally be one of the scariest places to find yourself- without health insurance coverage. When a simple trip to theemergency room can lead to thousands of dollars in charges, thelast thing you need is to not have health insurance. But whatoptions do you have? Graduating from college can be a true riteof passage into adulthood, because this is the time when mosthealth insurance plans drop you from your parents' plan. Evenlanding a job right after graduation can still mean that youwill have to go through a grace period before the company'shealth insurance kicks in. And if you have left a job forgreener pastures, well...don't get sick or injured!But do I even have options?Well you probably do have options for health insurance coverage,but they may not be ideal. If you have quit your job, then youwill have the option of extending your health insurance benefitsfor up to 18 months - thanks to COBRA. The only catch is thatyou will have to pay for those benefits out of your own pocket.Not exactly an easy thing to do without that paycheck rolling inevery week.Is that it? Is that my only hope?Before you panic, just relax. The solution is short-term healthinsurance. As the name implies, this solution offers you healthinsurance options for a limited period of time. Most short-termhealth insurance benefits are available for 30 to 180 days.Depending on where you live, you may be able to obtain thesebenefits for up to a year.And short term health insurance is the same as what I had atwork?Well, if you mean that you have coverage in the event of ahospital visit or sudden illness, then yes. You also can pickyour own doctors and hospitals, which is actually an advantageover some health insurance plans offered by employers. But thereare definitely coverage limitations on short-term healthinsurance plans.So what am I not covered for?That really is the million dollar question, isn't it? Well,routine medical exams are not covered by a short term healthinsurance policy. Any kind of preventative care is also out thewindow with this type of coverage. Plus, you can forget aboutdental and optical coverage with short-term health insurance.For obvious reasons, this sort of health insurance also does notcover medical costs relating to a pregnancy nor, anything havingto do with the childbirth itself.No offense, by why should I bother with short term healthinsurance?Because a simple trip to the emergency room can cost thousandsof dollars, and any emergency procedure and hospital stay cancost tens of thousands of dollars. Hey, short- term healthinsurance is not supposed to be the long-term solution. It isjust a way to make sure you are covered while you are not on anyemployer's health insurance plan. And it can help you avoidgoing into serious debt, should something happen to you when youare not otherwise covered on a health insurance plan. For thatreason alone, it is definitely worth the expense.