Editorial Standards

This page covers three things: where the premium figures on this site come from, how often we check them, and what happens when a reader flags something wrong.

Where the premium figures come from

Every dollar range on this site, in the calculator and in the guides, is built from published sources: state insurance department rate filings, carrier pricing surveys, and the federal rule that caps short term plan duration at 364 days (with state-level exceptions noted where they apply). We do not publish a figure we cannot trace back to one of these sources, and we do not use a single carrier's list price as a stand-in for a market range. The full breakdown by age band, plan tier, deductible, and term length lives on the premium reference page, including a downloadable CSV of the underlying numbers.

How often figures are checked

The reference table and the calculator's pricing bands are checked each time a state changes its short term plan rules or a new pricing survey is published, and at minimum once a quarter even if nothing has changed publicly. Each guide shows the date it was last updated near the byline, so you can see at a glance whether a figure reflects current pricing or an older cycle.

What we will not do

We will not describe a plan as cheaper or better covered than the source data supports, and we will not soften language about exclusions, such as pre-existing condition denials or the lack of ACA-required essential benefits, to make a plan sound more attractive. A guide's conclusion follows the sourced facts, not the other way around.

Corrections

If a range, a rule, or a state detail on this site looks wrong, tell us through the contact page with the specific page and figure in question. We check it against the underlying rate filing or rule and correct the page if the figure is out of date or wrong, updating the "last updated" date on that guide when we do. We do not silently rewrite a published guide's conclusions without noting that a correction was made.

Who is responsible for this page

Chris Terry is the publisher of this site and is responsible for the standards on this page. Guide-level sourcing questions can also be directed to the writer credited on that guide; see the authors page for who writes what.