All occupations Travel Nurses · Colorado

Health Insurance for Travel Nurses in Colorado

Most travel nurses in Colorado are paid in ways that leave them shopping for their own coverage, whether they work around Denver or anywhere else in the state. Most of the ones I work with choose a private plan priced on their health, not their income, that can start any month if approved. Colorado Marketplace premiums are rising 10% to 12.8% on average for 2027, so the private option is worth pricing first.

Private health insurance in Colorado

Most travel nurses I help in Colorado end up on a private plan, not a Marketplace plan. Private, medically underwritten health insurance is priced on your age, zip code and health instead of your income, so a strong year never raises your premium and there is no tax credit to pay back in April.

Why people leave the Marketplace

Premiums keep climbing. Colorado Marketplace premiums are rising 10% to 12.8% on average for 2027.
The subsidy cliff. Above 400 percent of the poverty level ($63,840 for one person, $132,000 for a family of four) you pay full price.
Surprise tax bills. Underestimate your income and you repay the tax credit in April.
Narrow networks. Many plans are local HMOs or EPOs that need referrals and cover little outside the area.
High out-of-pocket costs. 2027 out-of-pocket maximums reach $12,000 per person and $24,000 per family.
One window a year. Outside open enrollment you need a qualifying life event to enroll or switch.

What a private plan does differently

Start any month. If approved, coverage can begin the first of next month, with no wait for open enrollment.
Networks that travel. Many private plans use national PPO networks, which can give you in-network doctors outside Colorado too. Networks vary by plan.
Can cost less than full-price Marketplace plans for some healthy applicants above the subsidy line.
Accident coverage the Marketplace does not offer. A private plan can be paired with accident coverage, a separate policy. What it includes varies by plan.
Approval is based on health. You answer health questions, and acceptance is not guaranteed.

With a significant health condition, or income low enough for a large tax credit, a Marketplace plan can be the better fit, and I will tell you if it is. Either way you see both side by side.

Private plans are not ACA Marketplace plans. Benefits, exclusions and pre-existing condition rules differ by plan and by state, so review the plan details before you enroll.

Get a private plan quote

Learn more: coverage not based on income · how underwriting works · private vs Obamacare · PPO plans for individuals · switching from the Marketplace

Colorado health insurance in 2027

Colorado's finalized individual-market increase lands between about 10 and 13 percent, depending on how the trackers weight the insurers. That is below the national average, helped by Colorado's state reinsurance program and its public-option rules, which have pushed insurers to hold down premiums for several years.

Marketplace rates: up 10% to 12.8% on average for 2027 (final).
Benchmark silver plan, age 40: $615 a month in 2027, up from $557 in 2026.
The subsidy cliff in Colorado: earning $1 over $63,840 costs a single 60-year-old about $9,148 more a year for that plan, and $1 over $86,560 costs a 60-year-old couple about $22,498.
Where to enroll: Connect for Health Colorado, the state's own exchange, which sets its own 2027 enrollment dates.

More: Colorado 2027 rate changes · 2027 subsidy cliff by state. General information, not tax advice.

How travel nurses work in Colorado

Colorado travel nurses usually work agency-arranged hospital contracts, while per diem and 1099 nurses fill shifts as needed. Under Senate Bill 22-210, now C.R.S. 8-4-125, supplemental health-care staffing agencies must certify with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and report the average rates they charge facilities and the average pay they give workers each quarter. An agency that does not fix a missing report within 30 days of a notice faces a $10,000 fine, and $20,000 for a later failure. Agency coverage often ends with the contract, so gaps call for a plan of your own.

Colorado licensing for travel nurses

The Colorado State Board of Nursing, within the Department of Regulatory Agencies' Division of Professional and Occupational Regulation, licenses RNs and LPNs. Colorado is a Nurse Licensure Compact state, with the current compact in effect since January 19, 2018, and a multistate license is the default for nurses who live in Colorado. Travelers holding a multistate license from another compact state can work here without a new license. Nurses from non-compact states apply by endorsement online and must submit fingerprints. Compact nurses who move their home state to Colorado must apply here within 60 days.

The Colorado market for travel nurses

Registered nurses are Colorado's most advertised job. The state's 2025 Talent Pipeline Report found more than 42,000 unique RN job postings from January through August 2025, about 6.6 percent of all online postings and roughly 9,400 more than the same months of 2024. The report projects about 4,226 RN openings a year from 2024 to 2034, with about a quarter coming from industry growth. No other occupation added as many postings over that year, which shows how hard Colorado hospitals and clinics are recruiting.

Colorado coverage rules that apply to you

Leaving a job: Colorado requires insured group plans to offer 18 months of continuation after at least six months of coverage, with the employer giving written notice within 10 days and the employee electing within 30 days.
Short-term plans: Colorado law limits short-term plans to six months, nonrenewable, and few if any insurers sell them in the state.
Where to enroll: Colorado uses its own exchange, Connect for Health Colorado. Connect for Health Colorado sets its own open enrollment dates; check its site for 2027 deadlines. Private, medically underwritten plans can start the first of any month if approved.
2027 rates: individual plans 10% to 12.8% on average. See the Colorado 2027 rate page.

The gap between contracts

Agency health plans usually end when an assignment ends, sometimes on the last day of that week or month. If your next contract starts three weeks later, you are uninsured in between unless you plan for it. Losing agency coverage opens a 60-day Marketplace special enrollment period, and if approved, a private plan can start the first of any month, so either can bridge the gap. Many travelers keep their own plan year-round and decline agency coverage so they never face a gap.

Keeping your own plan across states

A nurse who changes states every 13 weeks needs a plan that works where the contract is. Nationwide PPO networks travel well. A Marketplace plan is tied to your tax home, so if you work far from home you may have only emergency coverage there. Check the network for each assignment city before you sign.

Per diem and 1099 nursing

Per diem and independent contract nurses buy their own coverage and pay self-employment tax. Estimate a full year of net income for the Marketplace, including stipends only if they are taxable. General information, not tax advice — confirm with your CPA based on your specific entity structure.

When the Marketplace still makes sense

The Marketplace fits travel nurses with a significant health condition, because acceptance is guaranteed, and households whose 2027 income stays under 400 percent of the poverty level ($63,840 for one person, $132,000 for a family of four), where a tax credit lowers the price. Above that line it costs full price. The full guide for travel nurses goes deeper.

Quote for a travel nurse in Colorado

Private plans priced first, with the Marketplace alongside when it fits. No fee.

Get a quote (786) 218-2384

Questions from Colorado travel nurses

What license do travel nurses need in Colorado?

How much are Colorado health insurance premiums rising for 2027?

Individual-market premiums in Colorado are set to rise 10% to 12.8% on average for 2027. Households above 400 percent of the poverty level get no tax credit and pay the full increase.

What happens to my coverage if I leave a job in Colorado?

Colorado requires insured group plans to offer 18 months of continuation after at least six months of coverage, with the employer giving written notice within 10 days and the employee electing within 30 days. Losing employer coverage also opens a 60-day Marketplace special enrollment period, and if approved, a private plan can start the first of any month.

Should a travel nurse take the agency's health plan?

It can work for back-to-back contracts, but coverage usually ends with the assignment. Nurses with gaps between contracts often keep their own plan instead.

Can a travel nurse buy a plan that works in every state?

Some private plans and some Marketplace plans use national PPO networks. Many Marketplace plans are local HMOs or EPOs, so check the network before you choose.

Sources: cochamber.com, cdle.colorado.gov, dpo.colorado.gov, www.nursecompact.com. Facts checked October 2026. See all Colorado health insurance rules.

Written by Frank Caballero, licensed health insurance agent in Colorado and 30 other states, NPN 21032307.