I'm Julian Sanchez de la Rosa, an independent broker licensed in 31 states. Before insurance I was a healthcare recruiter — I placed travel nurses, radiologists and surgical techs, and coverage came up on nearly every call. It was almost always a mess. This page is what I wish I'd been able to hand people back then.
This is the single thing most travel nurses find out too late, so it's worth being blunt about.
If you buy a plan in Florida and take an assignment in Colorado, that plan does not come with you. You have to enroll in a new one. Not renew, not transfer — a different plan, from a different insurer, in a different state. For someone taking three or four assignments a year, that's three or four enrollments.
This is the expensive part nobody mentions. Move states in March, again in July, again in October, and you can spend the year paying toward three separate deductibles and never finishing one. If you have any real medical need — a pregnancy, a surgery, an ongoing prescription — that math gets ugly fast.
A permanent move to a new state opens a 60-day window to enroll outside the normal season. The catch that catches people: you must have had coverage before the move. If you let it lapse between contracts, moving does not get you back in. That's the trap, and it's the one I see most.
Agency insurance isn't bad. It's just frequently misunderstood, and the details vary enormously between agencies. Ask these before you sign.
Some agencies cover you from day one. Others have a 30-day waiting period, which means the first month of a thirteen-week contract you are uninsured unless you arranged something yourself.
Many agencies will carry you across a short gap but drop you once it runs past roughly 14 to 30 days. If your next contract starts five weeks out, or falls through, you need to know in advance whether you're covered or exposed.
Agencies build the cost of benefits into your bill rate. Nurses who decline agency insurance are often offered a higher hourly or a bigger stipend — sometimes enough to more than cover a private plan. Ask for the number both ways and compare. Plenty of people never ask, and simply take the default.
That is the direct answer to the state-lines problem. Coverage that travels means you aren't re-enrolling every assignment, your deductible keeps accumulating through the year instead of resetting, and the doctor you found last contract is more likely to still be in network on the next one.
When your next contract lands somewhere new, you call the same person. If a marketplace plan in that state genuinely beats what I can write — which happens, particularly if your income qualifies you for a subsidy — I'll tell you that and help you see it clearly. I'd rather be the person you call in three years than sell you the wrong thing today.
If you want a number before you talk to anyone, the cost estimator gives you a real monthly range in about thirty seconds. No email required.
30 seconds. I reach out. You decide — no pressure, no obligation.
Prefer to skip the form? Book a time on my calendar
Most of my clients don't have an HR department. They're buying coverage on their own — and the market is confusing if this isn't your full-time job. So I lay the plans out side by side in plain English: what each one actually covers, what it costs you when you use it, and where the real differences are. No jargon, no fine print buried at the bottom — just a clear comparison so you can see the trade-offs yourself and make the call with confidence.
1099, freelance, or your own LLC. You need real coverage without an employer footing the bill — and premiums may be tax-deductible.
Spouse, kids, or both. We'll look at what it actually costs to keep your pediatrician and your budget intact.
Laid off, quitting, aging off a parent's plan, or staring down a COBRA bill. Losing coverage opens a special enrollment window.
A handful of employees and no idea where to start. There are more options than you think, and some don't require a group plan.
I'm an independent broker. I shop the market, bring you what's actually available, and show you the trade-offs honestly — including when the answer is "stay where you are."
As an independent broker, I compare plans from different insurance companies side by side and walk you through how they actually differ.
Open Enrollment has a deadline, but life events — losing coverage, moving, marriage, a new baby — open a special enrollment window. Some private options are available year-round.
Self-employed people can often deduct health insurance premiums. I'll flag when it applies so you can raise it with your accountant.
The enrollment is the easy part. I'm still here when a claim gets denied, a card doesn't arrive, or your income changes mid-year.
Prefer to skip the form? Book a time on my calendar