Help - desperate - insurance for short-term living back in US

I'm a US citizen and have lived in the UK most of my life. I've worked in the US for a few years and am now going back to the US for 8 months with my British spouse for a sabbatical - salary paid by my UK employer.

I am absolutely desperate to find some health insurance. Preferably a decent one (and we can pay) that would cover at least some pre-existing conditions (as I've had 6 or 8 doctors visits plus a hospital stay for something in the last year or two) but if not then ANYTHING.

The regular insurance plans require at least 3-6 if not twelve months of US residency. The short-term plans are the same.

The International Scholar plans however require you to NOT be a US citizen!

Has anyone managed to work this out at all? It actually seems easier for my British spouse and I can feel a headache coming on!

You may have already found this link, but in case you haven't seen it, this is a pretty good site:

http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/

I arranged short-term insurance through them a few years ago when I took a new job and was waiting for my benefits to start. I don't remember the residency requirements, but I had just returned from living in the UK when I got my policy. There are a lot of different plans so you should be able to find something that covers pre-existing conditions.

Most insurers have residency requirements.  Assurant are pretty much the only company that will insure Americans who have been out of the USA for several years.  They also offer a policy called "Patriot America"  - a version of the Patriot Travel Medical plan from IMG-Global.

Well, after posting the original link, my husband found Kaiser who I rang up and they don't have a residency requirement so long as I'm a citizen. And they are the top pick from ehealthinsurance for my state. So that is slightly reassuring!

It does get a bit more complicated than that but I think at least I will have something.

Just a followup, we are now back but interestingly qualified under HIPAA - you get a letter from the British GP & away you go. Expensive, but comparable cover to the regular HMO plans.