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I am a recent graduate from California..moving to New York..what state should my health insurance be in?

I am a California resident, have been all my life...and will be in New York for about a year..not long enough to get residency. If I apply for short term health insurance, do I put in my NY zipcode or my hometown (my parents' address). Sorry if this is a naive question...Thanks!!!

Public Comments

1. I would do wherever you are living, otherwise, there might be no doctors within the plan area. If you move, then you would have them transfer the plan to the state you move to, that is if they write insurance in both states. Perhaps it would be best to call the company you are planning to go through and ask them.
2. You don't have to live in a state for a minimum time to be a resident. If you want health insurance to cover you in a NYS hospital, with NYS providers, buy a NYS policy. If you want CA hospitals and CA providers, buy a CA policy. Each policy will have different rules and requirements - they do NOT carry over from one state to another (with the exception of life threatening emergencies). So, if I were you, I'd buy NY coverage while you're living in NY.
3. It is preferable to get health insurance in the state you will reside in especially if it is more than 90 consecutive days. Many health insurance policies specify length of time you can be away from your primary territory which is usually 90 days. Afterwards, the definition of residency in insurance terms is the one where you are at more than 90 consecutive days. I used to have to tell some of my frequent vactioning clients to make sure they had returned by the 91st day. There is a legal loophole language to that but I won't get into it as it is not ethical as an agent of an insurance company to discuss the loophole in writing and to offer it to an insured. It was all verbal and basically offered as a side bar off the record Also, there is the possibility of limited coverage for when you are outside of your primary plan area which could translate to higher out of pocket costs to you because you are not within your plan's established network. Some will even state if you are hospitalized outside of the primary area, then you will need to be moved as soon as you are considered stabilized for transportation into a network area which sometimes the policy will not cover transportation costs depending on your state's guidelines if it addresses it at all. Find a policy that can be "transferred" to the other state once you have moved back to CA. It will be a new policy written, but the company will have recognized a continued without lapse coverage which would then not subject you to pre-existing conditions rule as in essence you are the same risk value with the same insurance company just in a different geographical location. Good luck