Availability of short-term health insurance in New Hampshire

Yes. As of 2025, at least one insurance company offers short-term health insurance in New Hampshire.

However, short-term health insurance policies had not been available for purchase in New Hampshire for much of 2023 and 2024. In early 2023, the New Hampshire Insurance Department had confirmed that no short-term policies were for sale in the state.¹

In 2024, the department noted that there were some approved filings in SERFF for short-term health insurance.² But only one (Golden Rule) was current, and the carrier was not actively marketing short-term health insurance in the state at that point.

By 2025, however, Golden Rule (United Healthcare) was actively marketing short-term health insurance in New Hampshire.

Short-term health insurance in New Hampshire can’t exceed four months in duration. The state’s rules limit policy duration to no more than six months,³ but federal rules supersede state rules if the federal rules are more restrictive, which is why the policies are capped at no more than four months in duration.

Under federal rules, enrollees are allowed to apply for a new short-term plan that can take effect after the first plan ends, but only if the new policy is issued by a different insurer. This is likely not possible in New Hampshire, as it appears that only one insurer offers short-term policies in the state.

Even if multiple carriers were offering coverage, state rules clarify that a short-term plan cannot be issued to anyone in New Hampshire who has had more than 540 days of short-term coverage in the past 24 months. So a person can’t have more than a year and a half of short-term coverage in a given two-year period.³

Golden Rule (United Healthcare) offers short-term health insurance in New Hampshire as of 2025.

Most short-term health plans can be purchased by people who are younger than 65 and who do not have any of the short list of medical conditions that will result in a declined application.⁴ But the specific eligibility requirements are set by the insurance company that sells the policies, and these plans are not subject to ACA regulations.

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).⁵

Short-term health plans also generally exclude coverage for some of the ACA’s essential health benefits. For example, it’s common to see no coverage for services such as maternity care, prescription drugs, and mental health care.⁶ Short-term plans also tend to have dollar limits on their coverage. 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’re in New Hampshire and need health insurance, your first step should be to see whether you’re eligible to enroll in an ACA-compliant major medical plan.

These plans can be obtained during open enrollment (November 1 through January 15) or during a special enrollment period. There are a variety of qualifying life events that will trigger a special enrollment period and allow you to buy a plan through the health insurance exchange/Marketplace in New Hampshire (HealthCare.gov).

ACA-compliant major medical plans are purchased on a month-to-month basis, so you can enroll in a plan even if you only need coverage for a few months before another policy takes effect.

And if your annual household income makes you eligible for a premium subsidy, you might find that an ACA-compliant plan is much less expensive than you expected (you can qualify for a premium subsidy that will be prorated for just the months you need coverage, as long as your total annual income makes you eligible for a subsidy).

The annual open enrollment period for ACA-compliant coverage runs from November 1 to January 15. You do not need a qualifying event to sign up during this window. And it’s worth noting that the American Rescue Plan’s premium subsidy enhancements will continue to be available through at least 2025, making ACA-compliant coverage more affordable than it was before 2021.

The New Hampshire Insurance Department has a guide for consumers, outlining the questions people should ask themselves before opting for a short-term medical plan.

Depending on the circumstances, there may be times when a short-term health plan might be the only realistic option, or the best option to meet your needs for a short while, such as:

• If you missed open enrollment for ACA-compliant coverage and do not have a qualifying event that would trigger a special enrollment period (note that the short-term policy can only last for up to four months, so it will not provide full-year coverage).
• If you’re newly employed and the coverage that your employer provides has a waiting period. In that case, a short-term term could cover you against unexpected medical costs while you wait for your new job-sponsored coverage to take effect (if you also have a qualifying event, you could enroll in an ACA-compliant plan through the New Hampshire Health Insurance Marketplace instead, and cancel it when your employer’s coverage takes effect).
• If you’ll be enrolled in Medicare within the next few months, but need coverage until that point and don’t have access to an employer-sponsored plan or a qualifying event that would allow you to sign up for an ACA-compliant plan through the New Hampshire marketplace. Note that although Medicare covers pre-existing conditions regardless of coverage history, Medigap insurers can impose a pre-existing condition waiting period if the policy you had before enrolling in Medicare did not cover your pre-existing conditions.
• If you’re losing access to an employer’s plan mid-month, you can use a short-term policy to cover you for the rest of that month. But note that the Health Insurance Marketplace will allow you to enroll in a Marketplace plan effective the first of the month when your coverage will end (instead of the first of the following month, which was the only option prior to 2024).⁷ This would result in double coverage for the first part of the month, but would eliminate the need for a short-term bridge plan. (Note that if COBRA or state continuation is available, you can use that as a fall-back plan instead, since coverage would be retroactive to the date you lost your employer-sponsored coverage.)
• If you’re not eligible for Medicaid or a premium subsidy in the exchange, the monthly premiums for an ACA-compliant plan might be unaffordable. But again, short-term health insurance can no longer serve as a full-year coverage option.

Learn more about Medicaid in New Hampshire, which might be an option depending on your current monthly household income, and which would provide more robust coverage than a short-term health plan.

The Granite State has its own regulations and coverage requirements pertaining to short-term health insurance in New Hampshire. The state has also published guidance and information for consumers, highlighting the many ways that short-term healthcare insurance plans offer less robust protections than ACA-compliant plans.

Until October 2, 2018, federal regulations limited short-term plans to no more than three months in duration, and prohibited renewals. But the Trump administration changed the rules at that point, allowing much longer durations for short-term insurance. If states have their own restrictions, however, the state rules apply instead, and New Hampshire is an example of this.

The Biden administration’s stricter rules took effect in September 2024, and supersede more lenient state rules. There were no short-term policies available for sale in New Hampshire in much of 2023 and 2024, but policies are available for purchase in 2025.