Even though Tennessee's marketplace offers EPOs exclusively, a nationwide PPO is still available. I'll explain how travel nurses who maintain a Tennessee address can arrange insurance that remains useful when their assignments take them across state lines.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber, and I'm licensed as a broker in Tennessee plus 35 additional states. Whether your Tennessee home is in Memphis or Johnson City, I help travel nurses arrange personal coverage they can maintain, with everything handled conveniently over the phone.
There's one major marketplace limitation every Tennessee travel nurse needs to understand: all available plans are EPOs. These policies rely on designated provider networks and generally won't pay for ordinary medical treatment outside those networks. That arrangement can work well when your nursing job keeps you close to home. But if you're spending three seasons of the year on assignments in other states, those network restrictions become a serious concern.
Tennessee's marketplace has 158 individual medical insurance plans available this year, and every one is classified as an EPO. Regardless of your home county, a marketplace PPO simply isn't among the available choices.
Through my office, you can apply for a nationwide PPO in Tennessee outside HealthCare.gov. This private coverage uses a medical questionnaire to determine pricing, and its provider network extends to hospitals and clinics in the states where you take assignments. For healthy travel nurses, it offers a way to maintain useful insurance while working away from home.
Say you're five weeks into an assignment in Phoenix and develop a sinus infection that needs a regular doctor's appointment. With a Tennessee EPO, the Phoenix provider will almost certainly be outside your network. Because EPOs generally limit out-of-network coverage to emergencies, you could be responsible for the appointment itself, any testing and the prescription medication. That's an important expense to consider before leaving Tennessee.
Compare that situation with having a nationwide PPO. Your appointment would be treated as in network, and you wouldn't need a referral. That difference helps explain why so many Tennessee-based travel nurses consider coverage beyond the marketplace. The more time your assignments keep you away from Tennessee, the more significant the distinction becomes. It matters even more when your spouse or child remains at home and needs medical care while you're traveling.
For this situation, a nationwide PPO deserves serious consideration. The insurance company reviews your medical questionnaire and may approve the application, decline it, or offer a policy that excludes a specific condition. Healthy travel nurses frequently qualify for premiums below the marketplace's unsubsidized price. Without premium credits, you'd otherwise be paying the full cost of a Tennessee EPO that might be difficult to use for much of the year. If you have an ongoing medical condition, tell me about it before assuming private coverage won't work. I'll compare both approaches with your medical needs in mind.
Next step: Schedule a call with me, and I'll compare nationwide PPO coverage against the EPO plans offered at your Tennessee home address, taking your actual nursing assignment locations into account.
When agency-provided insurance ends, it counts as a loss of employment-based coverage and generally triggers a 60-day special enrollment period. COBRA may also be available, but choosing to terminate COBRA later doesn't open another enrollment window. Make sure your agency confirms the insurance termination date in writing.
When your upcoming assignment is in another state, be careful about using a Tennessee EPO as temporary coverage. Once you leave Tennessee, its network may offer little practical help.
Next step: Contact me before your final nursing shift, and we'll choose insurance that covers the time between contracts while still being useful after you begin your next assignment.
When a break from nursing contracts reduces your earnings enough to qualify for premium credits, a marketplace EPO will generally be the most affordable choice for the months you spend in Tennessee. Extremely low earnings create another concern because Tennessee hasn't expanded Medicaid eligibility under the ACA.
Choose an EPO with your regular doctors back home in its network, and schedule prescription refills for when you're in Tennessee.
Next step: Share your assignment schedule and the doctors you use, and I'll help identify Tennessee insurance plans that work during the months you're spending at home.
One mistake I see frequently is paying the entire annual premium for a Tennessee EPO when you're actually home for only ten or twelve weeks and can't use much of its network elsewhere. Another is letting insurance terminate between assignments and simply hoping you won't need medical care during the break.
Before settling on a policy, take a moment to answer these questions about your situation:
If you're spending most of your year in Tennessee and regularly visiting local specialists, an EPO could be a suitable choice. But when you're healthy, traveling for most of the year and earning too much for premium credits, a nationwide PPO will generally make more sense. Plenty of nurses have schedules that fall between those situations, which is why comparing the options before your next assignment begins is so worthwhile.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
No. Tennessee offers 158 individual marketplace medical plans, all EPOs. If you're healthy, I can still help you obtain a private nationwide PPO.
Usually, emergency treatment is the exception. Ordinary visits to providers outside the network generally aren't paid for.
You generally receive a 60-day special enrollment period to purchase marketplace coverage after losing your agency plan. Continuing insurance through COBRA is another possibility.
No. The ACA Medicaid expansion has not been adopted by Tennessee.
Tell me your home county in Tennessee and the locations of your next two nursing contracts. I'll compare the costs of a local EPO and a nationwide PPO, then explain which option makes more sense for your upcoming year of assignments.
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