Question: We purchased a short term policy for our family when I was between jobs. One of my daughters has pre-existing health conditions (one being asthma). The plan did cover her - but then did not pay for a hospitalzation which they say resulted from her asthma. These type of plans do state that they only pay for emergency care and not routine care and pre-existing conditions - but for children - aren’t they now required by law to cover emergency care related to a pre-existing conditions? Or, are they just required to cover them only for accidents etc… and not for hospital stays related to their pre-existing conditions?

Answer: The main caveat that goes with short-term health insurance is that all medical conditions that existed at or before the date of the application are considered pre-existing condition and thus not covered. So the insurance company was “right” in this case. The ACA rule regarding exclusions in childrens’ health insurance does not apply to short-term health insurance.