You can still get a nationwide PPO in Tennessee, even though the marketplace sells only EPOs. Here is how travel nurses with a Tennessee home base keep coverage that works on assignment.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber, a broker in Tampa with licenses in 36 states. Travel nurses who keep their home in Tennessee, from Memphis to Johnson City, can set up their own coverage with me by phone.
One Tennessee fact shapes every traveler's decision here: the marketplace sells only EPOs. An EPO is built around a network, and it generally won't pay for routine care outside that network. That's fine for a nurse who works close to home. It's a real problem for one who spends three seasons a year in other states.
All 158 individual medical plans on Tennessee's marketplace this year are EPOs. There's no PPO to pick, no matter which county you live in.
You can still get a nationwide PPO in Tennessee, through me, sold privately rather than on HealthCare.gov. It's priced after a health questionnaire, and its network includes hospitals and clinics in the states where you actually work. For a healthy traveler, that's coverage that goes on contract with you.
Imagine week five of a contract in Phoenix. You need a routine visit for a sinus infection. Under a Tennessee EPO, a doctor in Phoenix is almost certainly outside the network, and EPOs generally pay out of network only for emergencies. The visit, the test and the prescription are likely on you.
Now picture a nationwide PPO. The same visit is in network, without a referral. That single difference is why travelers based in Tennessee so often look past the marketplace. The math gets sharper the more weeks you spend away, and sharper still if a spouse or child at home also needs care while you're gone.
This is the clearest case for a nationwide PPO. The insurer reviews your health answers and offers the policy, declines, or offers it with one condition excluded. Healthy nurses often pay less than the marketplace's full price, and a nurse past the credit range would be paying that full price for an EPO she'd seldom use.
Next step: Book a call and I'll compare a nationwide PPO with the EPOs available at your Tennessee address, using your actual contract map.
The end of agency coverage counts as losing job-based coverage, which opens a special enrollment period, usually 60 days. COBRA is offered too, but dropping it on purpose later won't create a new window.
If your next contract is out of state, think twice before filling the gap with a Tennessee EPO; it may not help much once you've left.
Next step: Call me before the last shift, and we'll pick coverage for the gap that still makes sense once the next contract starts.
If time off pulls your income into the credit range, a marketplace EPO is usually the most affordable way to cover months at home. Very low income is riskier here, because Tennessee hasn't adopted the Medicaid expansion.
And if you have a condition that needs steady care, the marketplace is the safer home: its plans can't refuse you or price you by health history. Pick the EPO that includes your home doctors and plan refills around time in Tennessee.
Next step: Tell me your contract dates and your doctors, and I'll show you which Tennessee plans fit the months you're home.
The most common mistake is paying full price, all year, for a Tennessee EPO that only really works during the ten or twelve weeks spent at home. The second is the opposite: dropping coverage between contracts and hoping nothing happens.
Before choosing, answer a few questions honestly:
A nurse who's home most of the year and needs local specialists may be well served by an EPO. A nurse who's gone most of the year, healthy, and earning past the credit range is usually better off with a nationwide PPO. Many travelers fall somewhere in between, and that's exactly the conversation worth having before the next contract starts.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
No. All 158 individual medical plans are EPOs. A healthy nurse can still get a nationwide PPO through me.
Generally only emergencies. Routine care outside the network is usually not covered.
You get a special enrollment period, usually 60 days, to buy a marketplace plan. COBRA is the other option.
No. Tennessee hasn't adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion.
Send me your Tennessee county and where your next two contracts are. I'll show you whether an EPO at home or a nationwide PPO fits the year you're about to work, and what each costs.
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