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As a medical traveler, your agency may offer you health insurance benefits as part of your pay package. Just like with many other employers this can be a significant portion of your total compensation. Your agency will pay a large portion of your insurance premium, making it an attractive option. However, depending on your situation, taking your agency’s insurance may not be your best option. Before deciding to choose which route to take, it’s wise to explore all of your options for health insurance.
Agency insurance
Just like with most employers, your agency may provide you with the option for medical insurance. This insurance may be available to you starting the first day of your contract or after the first of the following month, depending on your agency’s policy. Most agencies will cover a portion of the premium for your selected insurance plan. This means they may cover 50-80% of the cost of your insurance while you work for them. The insurance policies offered by the agency are oftentimes a “one size fits all” plan. While you may have an option between choosing an HMO or a PPO there isn’t much more you can choose from. More than likely you will end up paying extra for something you don't need and won't actually use.
Independent plans
An alternate option that will provide you with insurance benefits regardless of your agency, is to choose an independent insurance plan. This may be the best option for travelers who often switch between agencies, or don’t want to take their agency’s provided insurance. These plans are commonly sold by health insurance consultants. Working with a consultant, you can design a plan that is more specific to your needs. By electing for the type of coverage you want and cutting out the extra, you can drastically drive the cost of your insurance plan down. Also, by not electing to take your company's insurance, you will receive the amount they were paying towards insurance in your weekly paycheck. This will be an additional contribution to help offset medical insurance costs.
Although you will be responsible for the entire premium, working with an insurance consultant can potentially save you more money and provide you with better coverage than your agency’s provided policies. The additional savings and flexibility to carry your own insurance from one assignment to the next is a huge benefit to having a private insurance policy. If you wish to take off long periods of time between assignments, it would be advantageous to have a more flexible plan that isn’t dependent on your employer. Going with an independent insurance plan could be the most liberating and cost effective option for you. For more information on finding the right health plan for you, fill out the form and get a quote from Dylan Brockman.
With a quick, 5-minute phone call, you'll be able to see what options are available to you. For most healthy individuals under retirement age, you'll be able to find a plan that is comparable if not better than what your company can offer. The best part is that it will travel with you whether you have an assignment or not.
Time constraints
One of the great benefits to being a traveler is having the freedom to take off as much time in-between contracts as you want. Once you finish one assignment, you are not obligated to immediately start another one. If you are on the agency’s medical insurance plan, this might create a problem. Some agencies will only provide insurance coverage for a short duration after your contract ends (end of the month, or three weeks from contract end date). If you take more time off between contracts, you may end up uninsured until you get your next assignment. One option is to elect COBRA when your contract has ended.
COBRA
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA is a law that gives some employees the option to continue their current insurance plan after they leave a company. This is a potential option for travelers who want to take a long break between contracts. However, this requires the traveler to pay 100% of the cost for their plan, including the portion that was previously covered by their agency. This could result in paying roughly two or three times more than you were during your assignment.
There is a small loophole in electing COBRA that may be an option for travelers that do not use medical benefits often, but still want coverage incase of a catastrophic event between assignments. Once your insurance has timed out after the end of your contract, you are given at least 60 days to elect COBRA. Once you have elected COBRA, you have 45 days to pay any retroactive premiums to cover you from the date of coverage loss to the date of election. What this means is that if you need to use medical insurance for any reason 60 days after yours has lapsed, you can elect COBRA to cover those charges, after your medical visit. You then have 45 days to back-pay the designated premiums to have coverage. If nothing happens to you for those 60 days between contracts, then you don't elect COBRA and don't have to pay a dime! This is of course a very risky option that may not work if you become seriously ill, incapacitated and unable to make the COBRA election and payments. It is best to consult a professional before making such decisions.
Assessing your options
Being a medical traveler opens up a lot of potential options. It’s important to assess all of your available opportunities before proceeding. Taking the company’s insurance is the typical and easiest option. It oftentimes will prove to be beneficial if you are going to stay with that agency long-term and not take much time off between contracts. For those who enjoy taking more time between assignments, a less stressful and more flexible option is to find an independent insurance plan. Take time to evaluate your priorities before choosing your next health insurance policy.
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