Even though Milwaukee County's marketplace offers nothing but HMOs, I can still help you obtain a nationwide PPO in Wisconsin. Here's how nurses who travel for assignments while maintaining a Milwaukee home can arrange their insurance.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. As a health insurance broker holding licenses in 36 states, I work with travel nurses who need coverage that doesn't disappear whenever an assignment finishes. We arrange everything over the phone.
Picture a Milwaukee nurse who spent six years working in a downtown trauma unit after completing her training. She eventually began traveling but kept her Bay View duplex, renting its lower unit while she's away. Her schedule this year takes her to Phoenix for winter, San Antonio for spring and Portland for summer, with a couple of weeks at home near Lake Michigan between assignments. Each time an agency policy ends, she needs replacement coverage. Yet shopping HealthCare.gov with her Milwaukee address gives her only HMO choices.
In 2026, Milwaukee County's marketplace contains 35 individual medical policies, every single one an HMO. Wisconsin marketplace PPOs are available in just 15 of the state's 72 counties, concentrated largely in northern Wisconsin and the Fox Valley. Milwaukee and its surrounding area aren't among them.
I can arrange a nationwide PPO for you in Wisconsin even though your local marketplace doesn't offer one. It's privately issued coverage priced according to medical questionnaire answers, with network providers in Phoenix, San Antonio and Portland as well as your regular doctor in Bay View.
Marketplace financial assistance depends on total household income throughout the coverage year. For a traveling nurse, that figure changes with the number of contracts, weeks between assignments, occasional per diem shifts and rent collected from the downstairs unit. Begin with confirmed contracts and adjust the estimate whenever your circumstances change.
Wisconsin handles low-income coverage differently. Although the state didn't implement the ACA Medicaid expansion, BadgerCare Plus insures adults regardless of whether they have children, up to 100% of the poverty level. Marketplace premium credits generally cover the range from 100% to 400%. That means an extended break from work doesn't automatically create a gap between the two programs.
Losing employer-provided insurance generally starts a 60-day special enrollment period through HealthCare.gov. COBRA offers another way to continue agency coverage, but voluntarily canceling it or failing to pay later doesn't create a new enrollment opportunity. Consider your choices carefully before signing up for COBRA.
One way many travel nurses stop dealing with repeated insurance interruptions is to maintain personal coverage throughout the year, regardless of when an agency contract ends.
Next step: Get in touch a couple of weeks before your assignment finishes, and we'll make sure you've arranged insurance for the upcoming break.
Premium tax credits are available only through HealthCare.gov, which limits Milwaukee residents to HMOs. Since HMOs generally cover out-of-network services only during emergencies, routine appointments while you're traveling would usually be your responsibility. That may be manageable if you spend plenty of time home. If most of your year is spent elsewhere, however, we should compare private coverage with even a subsidized HMO, or schedule routine visits during home breaks. Keep your contract dates updated because they affect your income estimate.
Next step: Share your assignment calendar with me, and I'll show you the price difference between a Milwaukee HMO after premium credits and a nationwide PPO.
If you don't qualify for a credit, paying full price for an HMO with a limited local network may not make sense while you're traveling. A private nationwide PPO becomes worth considering. You'll answer health questions, and the insurer may approve you, offer a policy excluding a named condition, or decline the application. Nurses in good health frequently find premiums below full marketplace prices. I'll review each plan's benefits with you. And if you're treating an existing condition, don't assume an HMO is your only possibility. Tell me the details so we can examine both routes.
Next step: Schedule a call with me, and I'll compare a nationwide PPO quote with the unsubsidized HealthCare.gov premiums offered throughout Milwaukee County.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
No. Milwaukee County's marketplace offers 35 plans for 2026, and every single one is an HMO.
Coverage outside the network is generally limited to emergency situations.
No. Adults earning up to 100% of the federal poverty level can qualify for BadgerCare Plus, while marketplace credits generally begin at that threshold.
Yes. I can help nurses who are in good health purchase nationwide PPO coverage through the private market.
Tell me which county you live in, when your assignments begin and end this year, and where you expect to work next. I'll compare traveling coverage costs and help plan insurance for the time between contracts.
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