Your license travels. Your coverage should too. Compare portable health and supplemental plans that stay with you between contracts, across agencies, and across state lines.
Yes. Most staffing agencies offer medical coverage, often starting on day one of an assignment. The catch is that agency coverage is tied to your active contract. When the contract ends, so does the insurance, usually within days or by the end of that month. That's why many travel nurses carry a portable plan of their own.
Thirteen-week contracts, new states, new agencies. Four ways employer-style coverage breaks down for travel nurses:
Agency plans typically terminate when your assignment does. A gap between contracts can mean weeks uninsured.
Switch agencies mid-year and your deductible starts over from zero, even if you'd already met it.
A plan anchored to one state’s network may leave you out-of-network on your next assignment.
Some agencies pay more if you decline benefits. Whether that trade wins depends on what your own plan costs.
When an assignment ends and the next one hasn't started, you have four realistic ways to bridge the gap:
| Agency plan | COBRA | ACA Marketplace | Your own portable plan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost to you | Low weekly payroll deduction | Full premium + 2%, often several hundred to $2,000+/mo | Varies; premium tax credits may apply | Varies by plan design; stable year-round |
| When it starts | Day 1 at some agencies; up to 30-day wait at others | Retroactive to loss if elected in window | 1st of month after enrollment | You choose; independent of assignments |
| Between contracts | Usually ends at contract end; short-gap rollover at some agencies | Continues (you pay all of it) | Continues | Continues |
| Switching agencies | New plan, deductible resets | N/A (tied to the old plan) | Unaffected | Unaffected |
| Multi-state portability | Network tied to plan, not your route | Same network as agency plan | Depends on the plan; PPO-style networks travel best | Built around portability from the start |
Cost figures vary by age, household, and state. A licensed agent can run your actual numbers in one call: (214) 396-9356.
Benefit rules differ more than most nurses expect. As of mid-2026, published agency policies include:
| Agency | Coverage start | Between assignments |
|---|---|---|
| Aya Healthcare | Day 1 of assignment | Tied to active assignment |
| TNAA | Day 1 | Tied to active assignment |
| Trusted Health | Day 1 (min. weekly hours apply) | Rolls over gaps of 28 days or less; beyond that, COBRA |
| Medical Solutions | Election window at start (retroactive) | Tied to active assignment |
| Many other agencies | Up to 30-day wait | Coverage often ends at contract end or end of month |
Sourced from each agency’s published benefits pages. Verify your own agency’s current policy, since terms change.
Supplemental plans pay cash benefits directly to you, on top of your major medical plan rather than in place of it. And since you own them, they follow you across states, agencies, and contract gaps.
Cash benefits for injuries. Useful in a physical job with long shifts and new commutes.
Explore Accident
A set cash amount per hospital admission or day, which helps cover what a high deductible doesn't.
Explore Hospital Indemnity
Predictable cash payouts for covered medical events. A budgeting layer for variable contract income.
Explore Fixed Indemnity
A lump-sum cash benefit if you're diagnosed with a covered condition, so there's income to lean on when you can't take the next contract.
Explore Critical Illness
Many agency packages skip dental and vision entirely. Standalone plans keep checkups on schedule wherever you’re assigned.
Explore Dental & Vision
Most agencies don't offer life insurance at all. An individual term policy isn't tied to any employer.
Explore Term LifeSupplemental and fixed indemnity plans are not comprehensive health insurance and don't replace an ACA-compliant medical plan. We'll always tell you which is which.
In most cases, agency-sponsored coverage ends when your contract does, either on your last day or at the end of that month. Some agencies bridge short gaps (for example, up to about four weeks) if your next assignment is already booked. Beyond that, you'll need COBRA, a marketplace plan, or your own portable coverage.
Yes. Most travel nursing agencies offer medical coverage, and many include dental and vision. Start dates vary: some plans begin on day one of the assignment, others after up to 30 days. The catch is that the coverage only exists while you're on an active contract with that agency.
COBRA charges you the full premium your agency was paying, plus up to a 2% administrative fee. Based on the average employer plan (about $9,300/year for single coverage in the most recent KFF employer survey), that's often roughly $790 per month for an individual, several times what you'd pay through payroll. You have 60 days to elect and 45 more days to make the first payment, retroactive to your loss of coverage.
Usually, yes. Losing job-based coverage is a qualifying life event, opening a 60-day special enrollment window for an ACA marketplace plan. Two traps to avoid: voluntarily dropping COBRA before it runs out is not a qualifying event, and neither is losing a short-term plan. Moving to a new state for an assignment can be its own qualifying event.
It depends on the numbers. Some agencies pay meaningfully more per month if you decline their benefits. If your own plan costs less than the extra pay, and takes gap risk and deductible resets off the table, declining can come out ahead. A licensed agent can run both scenarios for your age, household, and home state in one call.
Not automatically. Many plans are built around one state's network, and HMO-style plans in particular may only cover emergencies out of state. For multi-state work, look for PPO-style networks with nationwide reach. It's one of the first things we screen for when helping travel nurses choose coverage.
The most common fits are accident insurance (a physical job), hospital indemnity (pairs well with high-deductible plans), critical illness (income protection between contracts), and standalone dental and vision (often missing from agency packages). These pay cash benefits alongside your major medical plan and stay with you when contracts and agencies change.
Malpractice (professional liability) coverage is usually provided by your staffing agency, and some nurses add their own policy through a specialty carrier. It's a different product from health insurance, and it's not what we sell. Champion Benefit Advisors handles the health and supplemental side: medical, accident, hospital indemnity, critical illness, dental, vision, and term life.
Coverage rules referenced from HealthCare.gov (special enrollment periods, COBRA continuation), the KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey (average premium figures), and CMS final rules on short-term limited-duration insurance (September 2024). Agency benefit details come from each agency’s published benefits pages and are current as of July 2026. Always verify with your agency.
Supplemental and fixed indemnity products pay fixed cash benefits and are not a substitute for comprehensive (ACA-compliant) health coverage. Champion Benefit Advisors does not sell professional liability (malpractice) insurance. This page is for general information, not tax advice. Stipend and tax-home questions belong with a qualified tax professional.