The monthly cost of short-term health insurance plans in Chicago is $253.24, 43 percent below the cost of individual market plans, according to a recent analysis by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA).
The study bases its conclusions on premiums a nonsmoking 40-year-old woman would pay in cities around the nation.
The Trump administration earlier this year changed an Obama administration rule that restricted consumers from buying short-term plans for more than three months. Under the new rules, consumers can keep short-term plans for up to 364 days.
The number of individual market plans available in Chicago was 26, compared to 254 short-term plans, the FGA study says. And six insurers offer short-term plans in the city, compared to three insurers that sell individual market plans.
Nationwide, the short-term plans are 59 percent less costly than the individual market plans, according to the FGA.
Short-term plans, however, do not typically include a variety of preventive services or coverage for pre-existing conditions.
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Short-term vs. individual market health plans
| City | Average monthly premium * | # of available plans * | # of insurers offering plans * | ||||
| Individual market plans | Short-term plans | Premium difference | Individual market plans | Short-term plans | Individual market
plans | Short-term
plans | |
| Birmingham, Ala. | $484.93 | $277.41 | -43% | 13 | 269 | 2 | 6 |
| Phoenix, Ariz. | $483.23 | $176.34 | -64% | 5 | 170 | 1 | 6 |
| Little Rock, Ark. | $404.06 | $198.80 | -51% | 27 | 269 | 4 | 6 |
| Denver, Colo. | $448.56 | $118.16 | -74% | 35 | 105 | 3 | 3 |
| Bridgeport, Conn. | $549.76 | $230.00 | -58% | 9 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| Wilmington, Del | $548.71 | $199.52 | -64% | 7 | 281 | 1 | 5 |
| Washington, D.C. | $379.05 | $228.15 | -40% | 13 | 275 | 1 | 5 |
| Miami, Fla. | $579.48 | $331.95 | -43% | 56 | 269 | 4 | 6 |
| Atlanta, Ga. | $436.88 | $226.67 | -48% | 21 | 207 | 2 | 5 |
| Honolulu, Hawaii | $455.47 | $224.32 | -51% | 22 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| Boise, Idaho | $388.86 | $215.87 | -44% | 45 | 179 | 3 | 4 |
| Chicago, Ill. | $445.52 | $253.24 | -43% | 26 | 254 | 3 | 6 |
| Indianapolis, Ind. | $408.47 | $171.87 | -58% | 33 | 82 | 2 | 4 |
| Des Moines, Iowa | $571.74 | $170.43 | -70% | 6 | 139 | 1 | 6 |
| Overland Park, Kan. | $509.32 | $146.24 | -71% | 11 | 24 | 2 | 2 |
| Louisville, Ky. | $368.52 | $219.08 | -41% | 14 | 173 | 1 | 5 |
| Baton Rouge, La. | $610.28 | $239.69 | -61% | 21 | 170 | 3 | 6 |
| Bangor, Maine | $528.24 | $179.85 | -66% | 14 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| Baltimore, Md. | $463.82 | $152.61 | -67% | 20 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| Detroit, Mich. | $353.72 | $187.49 | -47% | 55 | 52 | 7 | 3 |
| St. Paul, Minn. | $430.17 | $158.42 | -63% | 49 | 96 | 3 | 2 |
| Gulfport, Miss. | $578.80 | $257.34 | -56% | 5 | 269 | 1 | 6 |
| St. Louis, Mo. | $465.84 | $135.99 | -71% | 10 | 108 | 2 | 5 |
| Billings, Mont. | $460.61 | $141.74 | -69% | 23 | 24 | 3 | 2 |
| Omaha, Neb. | $591.77 | $202.22 | -66% | 11 | 170 | 1 | 3 |
| Las Vegas, Nev. | $360.28 | $221.99 | -38% | 14 | 139 | 2 | 6 |
| Manchester, N.H. | $487.25 | $150.75 | -69% | 15 | 39 | 3 | 1 |
| Albuquerque, N.M. | $357.03 | $183.85 | -49% | 17 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| Charlotte, N.C. | $596.36 | $197.00 | -67% | 9 | 207 | 1 | 5 |
| Fargo, N.D. | $333.96 | $153.72 | -54% | 15 | 115 | 2 | 4 |
| Columbus, Ohio | $396.91 | $166.16 | -58% | 25 | 269 | 3 | 6 |
| Oklahoma City, Okla. | $514.65 | $209.77 | -59% | 7 | 200 | 1 | 6 |
| Portland, Ore. | $382.31 | $174.10 | -54% | 33 | 141 | 5 | 5 |
| Harrisburg, Penn. | $574.71 | $287.51 | -50% | 14 | 269 | 3 | 6 |
| Columbia, S.C. | $528.51 | $226.48 | -57% | 24 | 257.00 | 1 | 5 |
| Sioux Falls, S.D. | $477.25 | $123.96 | -74% | 25 | 105 | 2 | 3 |
| Nashville, Tenn. | $538.12 | $213.81 | -60% | 11 | 267 | 2 | 6 |
| El Paso, Texas | $415.85 | $241.76 | -42% | 27 | 269 | 3 | 6 |
| Salt Lake City, Utah | $436.55 | $140.21 | -68% | 28 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| Virginia Beach, Va. | $603.28 | $220.35 | -63% | 7 | 269 | 1 | 6 |
| Charleston, W. Va. | $612.50 | $222.45 | -64% | 21 | 305 | 2 | 6 |
| Milwaukee, Wis. | $580.86 | $195.39 | -66% | 22 | 147 | 3 | 4 |
| Cheyenne, Wyo | $689.93 | $224.25 | -67% | 10 | 254 | 1 | 6 |
| Average | $484.47 | $199.93 | -59% | 20 | 160 | 2 | 4 |
Data for California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington is unavailable due to state policies limiting or prohibiting the sale of such plans.
Source: Foundation for Government Accountability and Agile Health Insurance
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