Brevard County is Florida's Space Coast, anchored by Palm Bay and Melbourne and built around an aerospace and defense economy where careers move with contracts, launch schedules, and program funding. When an aerospace program winds down, a defense contract shifts, or you leave one engineering job before the next one starts, employer coverage often ends before the new benefits begin. If you're between jobs in Brevard County, here's how to cover that gap and where the honest bottom line lands.

The quick answer for Brevard County residents

If you've just lost job based coverage, the most important thing to know is that it usually opens a Special Enrollment Period for a comprehensive ACA marketplace plan, real, guaranteed issue coverage you can start now, often with subsidies. Short term plans are also available under Florida law as a temporary bridge, but they are not ACA coverage and not minimum essential coverage. Insurance is regulated at the state level, so Florida's rules apply across Brevard County.

Older couple on the sofa reading the fine print of a plan letter

Your coverage options in Brevard County

ACA marketplace coverage, comprehensive, guaranteed issue plans through HealthCare.gov, often with income based subsidies. Losing employer coverage usually triggers a Special Enrollment Period, so this is the first thing to check between jobs.

Short term health insurance, temporary, medically underwritten coverage for a defined gap; excludes preexisting conditions; not minimum essential coverage.

Extended (long duration) short term plans, Florida law allows longer totals, but see the carrier caveat below.

Fixed indemnity / hospital cash plans, supplemental coverage that pays a fixed cash amount per covered event; an add-on, not comprehensive coverage.

Medicaid, Florida has not expanded Medicaid, so some adults fall into a coverage gap; still worth checking eligibility.

How Florida's rules apply in Brevard County

Florida's own statute (Fla. Stat. 627.6426) allows a short term plan to have an initial term under 12 months and a total duration up to 36 months. But here's the Florida-specific catch: some carrier forms may still be filed to the shorter federal template, so the term you can actually buy depends on the carrier's approved form, always confirm the duration on the specific plan. Florida also requires a signed 12-point ACA-noncompliance disclosure at purchase. These plans are medically underwritten, don't cover preexisting conditions, and are not minimum essential coverage. (The 2024 federal 3–4 month cap is currently not being enforced.)

Not sure which plan fits?

A licensed agent compares your real options for your ZIP in plain English. No cost. No pressure.

or call +1 (888) 885-6520

Who this fits in Brevard County

An aerospace engineer between program contracts who has a firm start date at a new employer weeks out, a short term plan can bridge the gap until new benefits begin, but confirm the buyable term first.

A defense or space-sector worker just laid off when a program wound down, losing job coverage usually opens a Special Enrollment Period, so a comprehensive ACA plan is often the better move than a stopgap.

A recently separated worker with a chronic condition or ongoing prescriptions, because short term plans exclude preexisting conditions, a subsidized ACA plan through a Special Enrollment Period is almost always the right route.

How to enroll from Brevard County

If you lost employer coverage, start with HealthCare.gov: it has an annual Open Enrollment in the fall through early winter, and losing coverage typically gives you a 60-day Special Enrollment Period to pick a comprehensive plan now. Short term and fixed indemnity plans aren't tied to Open Enrollment, you can generally apply year round, directly or through a licensed broker, subject to Florida's limits and the carrier's approved form. What you pay for a short term plan depends on your age, where you live in the county, tobacco use, the term length, and medical underwriting, not a set price.

Matthew T. Giberti Licensed Insurance Producer · National Producer Number: 20698856 About Matthew →

Short term and fixed indemnity plans are not major medical coverage and are not minimum essential coverage under the ACA; they are medically underwritten and may exclude preexisting conditions. Coverage rules reflect Florida law as of the last updated date and can change; confirm current terms and the specific plan's approved form before you enroll. Last updated: 2026-07.

Keep reading

All articles & insights →

Short term health insurance in FloridaFlorida statute allows an initial term under 12 months and up to 36 months total. The term you can actually buy depends on the carrier's approved form. Extended short term medical in FloridaFlorida statute allows an initial term under 12 months and up to 36 months total. The term you can actually buy depends on the carrier's approved form. Fixed indemnity insurance in FloridaFixed indemnity pays a set cash amount per covered event or hospital day regardless of the bill, a supplement to health insurance rather than a replacement for it. Florida regulates it as limited benefit coverage under the Office of Insurance Regulation.