Get Your Own?

Unless the employer is going to be willing to pay you what they would be paying for your health insurance coverage (which they won't--they're going to get away with paying you as little as possible), let them pay for your health insurance. One added advantage that you have is that when you quit you have COBRA coverage for dental and medical coverage for 18 months which you can take advantage of. When you are an individual subscriber, a medical insurer, like a auto insurance company, can drop your insurance at any time, for any reason. They can't do that when you are part of group coverage. Also, in general, they can't put restrictions and pre-clusions on you when you are under group coverage either. Look around. A healthcare institution, as a benefit, should be paying a good amount of your premiums for your medical insurance coverage. If they are not that is not a benefit to you, look for another employer. You are worth it.

Even if you don't have a serious medical condition now, you might develop one later. If you are getting your insurance privately, your insurance company can raise your rates dramatically and/or even drop you as a customer completely. If you are part of your employer's group plan, they can't do that. They have to keep providing you with that insurance at the same group rate even though you develop an expensive medical condition.

That group medical insurance coverage is a benefit most people don't fully appreciate until it's too late. People think "it's not worth it" until they get dropped from their old insurance company just when they need it the most -- or get their rates doubled when they can least afford it.

llg

Get coverage through your employer. With the price of health coverage these days it will be definately worth it to you. I frankly find it hard to believe that if you try to buy your own insurance, that you won't be paying out the rear end and out quite a bit of money. And no, your employer won't pay you what they would have been paying for your insurance policy. Likely, the only benefit that you are going to see is that insurance premiums are not being taken out of your check. But the government will almost make up for that, believe me. Insurance premiums are taken out before taxes, usually. So after your insurance premium comes out of your check, THEN the government takes out their percentage of what is left, for taxes. If you aren't having insurance premiums taken out, then that is just more money for Uncle Sam to take an even bigger bite out of.

Right now, because I just started a new job, I'm not having any insurance premiums taken out of my check because my insurance benefit won't go into effect for another month and a half. But I'll bet I'm not getting paid that much more than I will when my insurance starts coming out.

I just wanted to add a couple of things after re-reading your post:

Are you still PRN only? Because if that is the case, your employer isn't going to provide you any insurance anyway.

Are you working full time hours for an agency? Because if that is the case, I've noticed that agencies make their employees pay a **RIDICULOUS** amount of money for decent insurance. And of course, you have to work so many hours a month for that agency. In my opinion, unless you work crazy hours, the money that that agency charges for insurance practically cancels out all of the extra money you make. In a case like that you ARE probably just as well off whether you use their insurance, or get your own. Though again, remember that group insurance has the advantage in that, the insurance company can't cancel you or raise your premiums.

BUT, if you are working full time for a hospital or LTC or whatever, then usually chances are that you are better off financially, just taking their plan.