Short Term Medical Plans, also called temporary health insurance or term health insurance, can provide a temporary solution to help fill gaps in coverage.  Consider short term medical plans if you're between jobs, waiting for other coverage to begin, waiting to be eligible for Medicare coverage, or  if you are outside of open enrollment or  missed your 60 day special enrollment period for health insurance..   Term lengths  do vary by  each state. Some states allow you to  apply for up to nearly 12 months of coverage. If you need coverage for a longer period of time, you may be able to apply for another short term medical plan. Some states will allow you to purchase  back to back plans for longer coverage and some states do not. Its important to understand your state laws.    However, for any subsequent plan, whatever you received for treatment for under a proceeding plan will be considered a preexisting condition in most cases.