Health Insurance for Travel Nurses in Delaware
Most travel nurses in Delaware are paid in ways that leave them shopping for their own coverage, whether they work around Wilmington 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. Delaware Marketplace premiums are rising 16.4% to 16.5% on average for 2027, so the private option is worth pricing first.
Private health insurance in Delaware
Most travel nurses I help in Delaware 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. Delaware Marketplace premiums are rising 16.4% to 16.5% 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 Delaware 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 quoteLearn more: coverage not based on income · how underwriting works · private vs Obamacare · PPO plans for individuals · switching from the Marketplace
Delaware health insurance in 2027
Delaware's finalized 2027 increase averages about 16.5 percent in the individual market, and small-group plans are rising even faster, about 18 percent, one of the largest small-group increases among my states. Delaware also loses one of its three individual-market insurers for 2027, leaving buyers with fewer choices in an already small market.
- Marketplace rates: up 16.4% to 16.5% on average for 2027 (final), with 3 insurers filing and 1 leaving.
- Benchmark silver plan, age 40: $876 a month in 2027, up from $691 in 2026.
- The subsidy cliff in Delaware: earning $1 over $63,840 costs a single 60-year-old about $15,799 more a year for that plan, and $1 over $86,560 costs a 60-year-old couple about $35,801.
- Where to enroll: HealthCare.gov. Open enrollment runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027; choose by December 15 for coverage starting January 1.
More: Delaware 2027 rate changes · 2027 subsidy cliff by state. General information, not tax advice.
How travel nurses work in Delaware
Since a 2024 law, Delaware requires temporary staffing agencies that place workers in long-term care facilities to register with the Division of Health Care Quality and renew every year. Agencies must keep credential records for each nurse, cannot require their staff to recruit a facility's permanent employees, and must report placements, average assignment length and what they charge facilities. Nurses on short contracts may be agency employees or 1099 contractors. When a contract ends, agency coverage can stop before the next one begins, so planning coverage for those gaps keeps a nurse insured.
Delaware licensing for travel nurses
The Delaware Board of Nursing, part of the Division of Professional Regulation, licenses RNs and LPNs. Delaware belongs to the Nurse Licensure Compact and implemented the current compact on January 19, 2018. A Delaware resident can request a multistate license, and nurses whose home state is another compact state can work here on theirs. Endorsement is the route for nurses from non-compact states, who must hold an active license of the same type elsewhere. Endorsement applicants can get a temporary permit that expires 90 days after it is issued, and you cannot start orientation or work until it is assigned.
The Delaware market for travel nurses
Delaware's demand for nurses is driven by an aging, fast-growing south. Census estimates show Sussex County grew about 17 percent from 2020 to 2025, has a median age of 53.2, and has nearly a third of its residents 65 or older, far above New Castle and Kent counties. Statewide, 22.8 percent of Delawareans are 65 or older, compared with 19 percent nationally. Delaware law also sets minimum direct-care staffing hours and shift ratios for nursing homes, which keeps pressure on facilities to fill every shift, sometimes with temporary agency staff.
Delaware coverage rules that apply to you
- Leaving a job: Delaware requires insured group plans of employers with 1 to 19 employees to offer up to nine months of continuation after three months of coverage, at no more than 102 percent of the group rate.
- Short-term plans: Delaware limits short-term plans to three months, with no back-to-back renewals, under its insurance regulation.
- Where to enroll: Delaware uses HealthCare.gov through a state partnership. Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Private, medically underwritten plans can start the first of any month if approved.
- 2027 rates: individual plans 16.4% to 16.5% on average. See the Delaware 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 Delaware
Private plans priced first, with the Marketplace alongside when it fits. No fee.
Questions from Delaware travel nurses
What license do travel nurses need in Delaware?
The Delaware Board of Nursing, part of the Division of Professional Regulation, licenses RNs and LPNs. Delaware belongs to the Nurse Licensure Compact and implemented the current compact on January 19, 2018. A Delaware resident can request a multistate license, and nurses whose home state is another compact state can work here on theirs. Endorsement is the route for nurses from non-compact states, who must hold an active license of the same type elsewhere. Endorsement applicants can get a temporary permit that expires 90 days after it is issued, and you cannot start orientation or work until it is assigned.
How much are Delaware health insurance premiums rising for 2027?
Individual-market premiums in Delaware are set to rise 16.4% to 16.5% 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 Delaware?
Delaware requires insured group plans of employers with 1 to 19 employees to offer up to nine months of continuation after three months of coverage, at no more than 102 percent of the group rate. 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: www2.census.gov, legis.delaware.gov, dpr.delaware.gov, www.nursecompact.com. Facts checked October 2026. See all Delaware health insurance rules.
Travel Nurses in other states
Written by Frank Caballero, licensed health insurance agent in Delaware and 30 other states, NPN 21032307.