If you're a travel nurse living in Florida, a nationwide PPO is still available. Here's how nurses who maintain a Florida home handle time off between contracts while keeping access to in-network care across state lines.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a Tampa-based health insurance broker, licensed in 36 states. If you travel for nursing assignments but return to Florida between contracts, I'm talking to you. We handle everything over the phone, whether you're staying in a hotel, renting a place temporarily or relaxing at home between shifts.
Keeping your home in Florida while working travel contracts creates an insurance challenge. The coverage you can purchase is determined by your residential address, even though your assignments might take you anywhere. Most Florida marketplace options rely on local provider networks, and that doesn't line up well with a nurse spending several months working outside the state.
There is a way around that network limitation. I can still help you get a nationwide PPO in Florida, and healthy nurses often find the pricing reasonable.
The marketplace makes PPO coverage look expensive for a reason. Only one insurer offers Florida marketplace PPOs, and in 43 out of 67 counties, its price is more than twice the lowest silver premium available with another network type. Osceola County has an even larger difference, reaching 191%. At those premiums, relatively few travel nurses select it.
I'd compare a medically underwritten private PPO using a nationwide network instead. Your health determines the premium, and the network remains available as you move between assignments in different locations.
What your household expects to earn throughout the year determines which direction makes sense. Florida residents shop through HealthCare.gov, where premium credits are calculated using projected household income for the coverage year. Travel nurses need to account for their working weeks and any 1099 earnings, which are calculated after business expenses.
Florida's full marketplace premiums climbed significantly in 2026. According to the state insurance regulator, approved individual plan rates increased an enrollment-weighted average of 34.1% before subsidies. A premium credit can absorb much of that increase, but without one, you're responsible for the entire new premium.
Let's find the situation that matches yours below.
If your agency insurance ends when a contract finishes, that loss qualifies you for a special enrollment period, generally lasting 60 days. You can use it to enroll in a HealthCare.gov plan based on your Florida residence. COBRA offers another way to continue coverage, but choosing COBRA and later canceling it voluntarily won't qualify you for another enrollment opportunity.
Pay attention to the network you're purchasing. Florida's marketplace includes 410 plans, and 316 are HMOs centered on local providers. That arrangement can work during time off at home. But if you're leaving Florida for another contract next month, an HMO may not serve you well because routine out-of-network care generally receives no coverage.
Next step: Reach out before your current assignment ends, and we'll choose insurance that works during your break and continues to make sense afterward.
This is exactly why comparing a nationwide PPO matters. Without a premium credit, you're paying Florida's full marketplace rates for coverage largely restricted to local networks, unless you pay considerably more for the marketplace PPO.
Private medically underwritten coverage has a different approval process. You provide health information, and the company may accept you, reject the application or accept you with a particular condition excluded. Nurses who are healthy may receive premiums below unsubsidized marketplace prices while gaining access to participating doctors and hospitals in other states. I'll review each policy's benefits with you before you make a decision.
Next step: Schedule a call with me, and I'll compare nationwide PPO pricing with the Florida marketplace options available where you live.
Maybe your schedule includes several months without a contract. When your annual household earnings qualify for the premium credit, a marketplace policy will generally cost less than the alternatives.
Be careful if your income is especially low. Florida hasn't adopted Medicaid expansion, and marketplace premium credits generally require earnings of at least 100% of the federal poverty level. A year with very little work could leave you eligible for neither program.
Next step: Let me know the dates of completed assignments and any contracts you anticipate. We'll estimate your full-year earnings together before you submit an enrollment application.
Your Florida home address determines your marketplace choices. This year, those plans carry high unsubsidized premiums and mostly local provider networks. Florida also has no expanded Medicaid safety net for adults with very low earnings. For travel nurses based here, that makes estimating income correctly and choosing the right network especially important.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes, you can. Florida marketplace PPOs are expensive across most counties, but healthy nurses can still apply through me for medically underwritten private coverage using a nationwide PPO network.
Emergency treatment is generally covered. Regular visits outside an HMO or EPO network usually aren't, and HMOs make up most of Florida's marketplace offerings.
When agency insurance ends, you generally have 60 days under a special enrollment period to choose a HealthCare.gov policy. You can also consider continuing coverage through COBRA.
You might qualify for a premium credit based on your earnings. But Florida hasn't expanded Medicaid, and credits generally start at the poverty level, so an unusually low-income year deserves careful planning before enrollment.
Tell me your home county in Florida, the dates of your contracts and whether you're covering anyone besides yourself. I'll compare plans and prices using your home address, explain what fits your situation and tell you directly if your agency offers the better deal.
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