Health Insurance for Travel Nurses in Georgia
Most travel nurses in Georgia are paid in ways that leave them shopping for their own coverage, whether they work around Atlanta 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. Georgia Marketplace premiums are rising 20.7% on average for 2027, so the private option is worth pricing first.
Private health insurance in Georgia
Most travel nurses I help in Georgia 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. Georgia Marketplace premiums are rising 20.7% 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 Georgia 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
Georgia health insurance in 2027
Georgia's finalized 2027 individual-market increase averages about 20.7 percent, one of the larger increases in the Southeast. Georgia also stands out for how people enroll: since the 2025 plan year, Georgians use the state's own exchange, Georgia Access, instead of HealthCare.gov, and many enroll through web brokers and agents connected to it.
- Marketplace rates: up 20.7% on average for 2027 (final).
- Benchmark silver plan, age 40: $733 a month in 2027, up from $615 in 2026.
- The subsidy cliff in Georgia: earning $1 over $63,840 costs a single 60-year-old about $12,155 more a year for that plan, and $1 over $86,560 costs a 60-year-old couple about $28,512.
- Where to enroll: Georgia Access, the state's own exchange, which sets its own 2027 enrollment dates.
More: Georgia 2027 rate changes · 2027 subsidy cliff by state. General information, not tax advice.
How travel nurses work in Georgia
Travel and per diem nurses in Georgia typically work through staffing agencies on contracts of a few months, then may go weeks between assignments. Because most agencies are large employers, federal COBRA, not Georgia's short three-month state continuation, usually applies when a contract ends, and it bills the full premium. Skipping COBRA to save money can leave you uninsured in the middle of a deductible year. A plan you own, bought through Georgia Access or privately, stays in force from one contract to the next and avoids restarting a new employer plan's waiting period.
Georgia licensing for travel nurses
The Georgia Board of Nursing, part of the Secretary of State's licensing division, has honored multistate licenses under the Nurse Licensure Compact since January 19, 2018. Nurses whose home state is another compact member can work in Georgia on that license. Others apply by endorsement and must verify an active license elsewhere, pass a criminal background check and show 500 hours of RN practice or a nursing degree within the past four years, or finish a board-approved reentry program. The board says complete applications are typically reviewed within about 15 business days after every document arrives.
The Georgia market for travel nurses
Federal projections put Georgia near the top of the national nursing shortage. HRSA's December 2025 forecast expects Georgia to be about 20 percent short of the RNs it needs in 2038, roughly 25,110 full-time nurses, the third-largest gap of any state after California and North Carolina. Nationally, HRSA projects rural areas to fare far worse than cities, with an 11 percent RN shortage in nonmetro areas against 2 percent in metro areas by 2038. For contract nurses, that outlook points to steady demand in Georgia for years, especially outside the big metro hospitals.
Georgia coverage rules that apply to you
- Leaving a job: Georgia requires insured group plans to offer three months of continuation, plus the rest of the month coverage ends, after at least six months of coverage. People 60 and older leaving larger employers can continue longer, until Medicare or other coverage, at up to 120 percent of the premium.
- Short-term plans: Georgia has no state duration limit for short-term plans, so federal rules apply; with federal enforcement of the four-month limit paused, some Georgia plans run up to 36 months.
- Where to enroll: Georgia uses its own exchange, Georgia Access. Georgia Access 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 20.7% on average. See the Georgia 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 Georgia
Private plans priced first, with the Marketplace alongside when it fits. No fee.
Questions from Georgia travel nurses
What license do travel nurses need in Georgia?
The Georgia Board of Nursing, part of the Secretary of State's licensing division, has honored multistate licenses under the Nurse Licensure Compact since January 19, 2018. Nurses whose home state is another compact member can work in Georgia on that license. Others apply by endorsement and must verify an active license elsewhere, pass a criminal background check and show 500 hours of RN practice or a nursing degree within the past four years, or finish a board-approved reentry program. The board says complete applications are typically reviewed within about 15 business days after every document arrives.
How much are Georgia health insurance premiums rising for 2027?
Individual-market premiums in Georgia are set to rise 20.7% 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 Georgia?
Georgia requires insured group plans to offer three months of continuation, plus the rest of the month coverage ends, after at least six months of coverage. People 60 and older leaving larger employers can continue longer, until Medicare or other coverage, at up to 120 percent of the premium. 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: bhw.hrsa.gov, rules.sos.ga.gov, sos.ga.gov, codes.findlaw.com. Facts checked October 2026. See all Georgia health insurance rules.
Travel Nurses in other states
Written by Frank Caballero, licensed health insurance agent in Georgia and 30 other states, NPN 21032307.