I can help you get a nationwide PPO in Michigan, and the Upper Peninsula marketplace has a PPO option too. If Marquette is your home base while you travel for work, here's how to figure out which one makes more sense for you.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a health insurance broker licensed in 36 states, and I work with travel nurses who want coverage that stays with them when their contracts change. We handle everything right over the phone.
Picture a nurse raised in the U.P. who still considers Marquette her home. She's got a little house by Presque Isle Park, returns for deer season and holidays, but works 13-week assignments across the country. Winter takes her to San Diego, spring to Charlotte, and summer to Seattle. Her agency insurance ends whenever each assignment finishes. That leaves her spending breaks back along Lake Superior without coverage unless she sets something up herself. When she enters her Marquette address on HealthCare.gov, though, she discovers an option many other Michigan travel nurses don't have: half the available plans are PPOs.
For 2026, Marquette County residents can choose among 16 individual medical plans offered by two insurers, including 8 PPOs. For someone age 40 without a subsidy, the lowest-priced silver PPO runs 19% above the lowest-priced silver HMO. Compared with most of Michigan, that price difference is relatively small.
I can also help you purchase a nationwide PPO privately in Michigan. The insurer uses a health questionnaire to determine pricing, and the network is designed to provide in-network access across the country. Both the marketplace PPO and private PPO can address your travel needs, but they do it differently. Your health and income help determine which makes more sense.
Your household's income across the entire coverage year determines the credit, with eligibility ending above four times the federal poverty level. For travel nurses, that income changes depending on how many assignments you accept, the length of your breaks, and any 1099 work you take. Start with signed and anticipated contracts, then update your estimate whenever another assignment becomes official.
Once your employer-sponsored insurance ends, you have a 60-day window to enroll through the marketplace. COBRA lets you continue the agency's coverage, but choosing to cancel COBRA afterward, or allowing payments to stop, does not create another enrollment opportunity.
I get asked about short-term coverage quite often. Michigan limits coverage through the same short-term insurer to 185 days within any 365-day period, without renewal beyond that limit. That means short-term insurance cannot cover your entire year. Keeping a policy of your own removes the need to start over each time.
Next step: Give me a call a couple of weeks before your assignment ends, and we'll get coverage ready for the break between contracts.
Marquette stands out here. Marketplace credits are available only through HealthCare.gov and are calculated using a benchmark silver plan, which means you pay the PPO's additional cost yourself. In Marquette, though, that difference is 19%. For someone working outside Michigan most of the year, the added coverage can be worthwhile. HMOs generally cover emergencies only when you're outside their network. PPOs can still contribute toward out-of-network visits, although your share of the bill is higher. If you qualify for the credit, the marketplace PPO may be a smart choice, and I'll tell you when I think it is.
Next step: Share your assignment dates with me, and I'll compare Marquette's PPOs and HMOs using the marketplace credit you qualify for.
If you're paying without a credit, it's worth comparing the marketplace PPO with a private PPO. Private insurers review your health before deciding whether to accept you, accept you while excluding one condition, or decline coverage. Nurses in good health often find premiums below the marketplace's full price. And with a nationwide network, a clinic near your temporary home in San Diego may count as in network. Benefits aren't identical, so I'll help you review the details.
Next step: Schedule some time with me, and I'll compare a nationwide PPO quote with the full marketplace premiums available at your Marquette address.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes. Of the 16 marketplace plans offered in the county, eight are PPOs. The lowest-priced silver PPO carries a premium 19% higher than the least expensive silver HMO.
Under the same insurer, coverage is limited to 185 days during any 365-day period, and you cannot renew beyond that limit.
Usually, coverage applies only to emergencies because HMOs generally don't pay for other care outside their provider networks.
Yes. If you're a healthy nurse living anywhere in Michigan, I can help you purchase a private nationwide PPO.
Tell me which county you live in, your contract schedule for this year, and your next destination. I'll walk you through coverage for the time between assignments and help you find the plan that works best while you're traveling.
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