NEW YORK (BankingMyWay) -- Ever hear of short-term health insurance? It's an increasingly hot topic as consumers and businesses weigh the impact of health care reform, and as the job market remains volatile. By and large, short-term insurance helps consumers in transition. For example, someone who is temporarily out of work, new employees waiting to get on their company's health care plan, and recent college graduates looking for their first career job all may need short-term health care. Policies aren't difficult to get. Most insurers provide them, with some policies offering health care consumers up to $5 million coverage. Typical short-term health care plans last from anywhere between one-and-six months, and they typically come with low -- in some cases, extremely low -- payment premiums. That's the consensus from a study by Mountain View, California-based eHealth, an online health care services provider. The report, entitled "Cost & Benefits of Short-term Health Insurance Plans," says that individual consumers paid, on average, $67 per month for short-term health insurance, with an average $1,821 deductible. Families paid more -- about $153 per month with a $1,877 deductible. What is really interesting from the eHealth study is the opposite directions in which short-term health care premiums and deductibles are headed. The study says that from October 2009 through October 2011, the average short-term policy premium decreased 4.2% for individuals and decreased 5% for families. The average deductible increased 19.6% for individuals and 20.4% for families, according to eHealth. Another unique finding of ther study involved gender and health insurance. Women pay more than men for short-term health care, at $69 per month versus $64 per month for men on an an individual policy. But deductibles didn't follow this gender trend either. The eHealth study says that in 2011, men paid $1,874 per month for short-term health care deductibles, an increase of 17% from 2009. Women, on the other hand, paid $1,792 in deductibles, an increase of 16% over the same time period. On average, eHealth says that the average duration of a short-term health care plan is 184 days, just about six months, although some plans go as high as one year in duration. Here are some other takeaways from the study: 3.3% of enrollees retained coverage under their short-term policy for 300 days or more. Younger consumers tend to use short-term plans the most. eHealth says that in October 2011, 59% of all active short-term health insurance policyholders were between the ages of 25 and 44. In October 2011, policyholders between the ages of 45 and 64 made up 25% of active policies. 16% of active policies covered people ages 24 or younger. The average coinsurance for a short-term health insurance policy was 22%. By definition, co-insurance is a policy provision where the consumer and the health insurance provider share the total cost of covered medical services after the deductible has been cleared. About two-thirds of all plans offer prescription drug coverage. eHealth says that 67% of all active short-term health insurance policies offered prescription drug coverage. One caveat on short-term health care plans. Don't assume you can just roll over your plan after the six-months are up. Most health care providers will ratchet up your premiums if you try to go back-to-back with consecutive short-term heath plans, or steer you into a full-blown health care plan, which typically cost more than short-term plans. But if you are in a life transition, short-term health care is a viable and affordable option. Since more and more providers offer them, these plans are now easier to get, as well. More on health insurance:

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