Your coverage options and how they interact with your housing and agency choices.
Here's something most travelers don't realize at first: your health insurance choice affects your housing flexibility. If your insurance is tied to your agency, switching agencies means switching insurance — which can disrupt coverage and limit your options.
By getting your own insurance (Marketplace plan or short-term plan), you're free to switch agencies between contracts based purely on who offers the better pay and housing stipend — the state-by-state medians in the Travel Therapy Pay Index make those offers easy to compare. This is how experienced travelers maximize their housing pocket money.
Short-term health insurance plans can last up to 12 months. They're completely independent from your employer — perfect for travelers who want maximum agency flexibility. Coverage starts as fast as the next day.
Under 26: Stay on parent's plan. Marketplace: Subsidies based on lower W-2 income. Continuous coverage. Spouse's plan: Eliminates the variable. Agency plans: Convenient but check waiting periods, premiums, and what happens between contracts.
Full insurance guide at TravelTherapistInfo.com.
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