Health Insurance

I recommend most travel nurses get health insurance from somewhere other than the agency. Why do I recommend this?

1.     You will not have gaps in coverage between contracts.

2.     You will not be rushed to accept a bad contract just because health coverage is about to run out.

3.     You will not lose coverage if your contract is cancelled.

4.     Your deductible will not start over if you swap agencies.

5.     You are not dependent on the agency for something as important as health insurance.

Most all agencies offer health insurance to their travel nurses and most agencies offer health insurance at what appears to be very affordable rates. These rates vary from agency to agency but are usually between $15/week to $50/week for health insurance. The health insurance plans the agencies offer usually have a monthly premium around $600/month or more for an individual. Since a travel nurse only pays $15-50/week for a health insurance plan that cost $600/month or more, it appears this is actually a really good deal for the travel nurse. However, we all know nothing is free and as mentioned in previous sections everything comes from the bill rate (bucket of money). What the agency does not tell you when you sign up for health insurance through them is that the agency takes money from the bill rate (bucket of money) before you see it to pay for the majority/remainder of your health insurance premium that is not deducted from your pay check. I like to assume the premium for most of the health insurance plans offered by agencies cost around $600/month for an individual. If the agency deducts $25/week from your paycheck for the health insurance for a total of $108.25/month ($25/week x 4.33 weeks/month = $108.25/month) then the agency will deduct $491.75/month ($600/month - $108.25/month = $491.75/month) from the bill rate to cover the remainder of the cost of the premium. That means for this example if you do not apply for health insurance through the agency your pay package can potentially go up around $491.75/month or $113.56/week if you know how to ask for it.  

I search for good contracts on Facebook travel nurse job groups. When I find a contract I like or multiple contracts I like, I message the recruiter(s) through Facebook Messenger. I send them all the same message separately and one of the questions I ask them is “Does this pay package include health insurance?” The recruiter will usually answers this question with a simple yes or no.

If the recruiter answers “yes” to the initial question about health insurance. It lets you know the agency has already subtracted the large amount of money to make the health insurance seem affordable. Then you can ask how much does the agency health insurance cost you each week. The recruiter will likely email you a brochure with all the health insurance plans offered and the weekly cost of each plan. The brochure will tell you the exact amount deducted from your pay check per week for the basic plan for an individual. You will then use the same math from the example above to calculate about how much the agency should add to your pay package if you do not apply for the agency’s health insurance.

*It is okay if the agency health insurance is your best option. Just be aware the health insurance is costing you more than just the amount deducted from your pay check each week.