Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “Health is wealth.” Your health is essential for doing things you love and for having a long and stable career. Health insurance for truck drivers helps protect your most important asset, making it easier to get preventive care and promptly get treatment when you need it.

Consider how expensive it is not to have healthcare. According to Healthcare.gov:

A broken leg can cost $7,500 to treat.
A 3-day hospital stay can cost $30,000.

Additionally, KFF reports uninsured people are less likely to receive preventive care and services for chronic diseases and major health conditions. Uninsured people are nearly twice as likely to have difficulty affording healthcare costs, compared to those with insurance. Medical costs for uninsured people can lead to medical debt.

Health insurance for truck drivers and their family can provide financial protection, as well as peace of mind that when you need treatment, it will be affordable and easy to obtain with health insurance. The best health insurance for truck drivers can also offer essential preventive care, which helps truck drivers identify problems earlier on, so they can be treated before they develop into something worse or life-threatening.

You have lots of options for affordable health insurance for truck drivers. When you work for a company like Swift Transportation, you’ll get benefits like medical, dental and vision insurance included in your employment package. There are also options for affordable health insurance for owner operator truck drivers and individual health insurance you can select on your own. This guide explains what to be aware of.

Why health insurance for truck drivers is essential

If you want to have a long and comfortable life and be there for your family, health insurance is essential for your well-being. Some reasons to make health insurance a priority include:

Financial protection: Out-of-pocket healthcare costs can quickly add up, especially for emergencies and hospital visits, and serious condition treatment. Health insurance covers regular checkups, so you can screen your health and promptly address any issues. It also offers coverage for medical emergencies. Accidental injuries can happen at any time, but with a health insurance plan, you know you’ll be able to get the treatment you need at an affordable price.
Promoting longevity: With regular checkups, you can more proactively manage your health and wellness. Your physician can recommend healthy lifestyle habits that help you take better care of your health on a daily basis. This can help prevent chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and high blood pressure. According to the National Institutes of Health, people who maintain five healthy lifestyle factors, such as proper nutrition and regular exercise, lived more than a decade longer than those who didn’t.
Risks on the road: Due to the nature of the job, truck drivers face some unique risks that could impact their health. Sitting long hours can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, which can contribute to an increased risk of conditions such as obesity and high cholesterol. Working long hours could lead to fatigue and/or mental health challenges. Road risks could contribute to accidents that lead to injury. While these are mostly preventable by taking frequent breaks, regularly exercising, and employing safe driving habits, the presence of these risks makes staying healthy as a truck driver all the more important. Plus, you’ll need to pass various health screenings to comply with Department of Transportation physical requirements to obtain and maintain a commercial driver’s license.

Swift Transportation greatly values our workforce, which is why we offer full medical, dental, vision and prescription benefits for employees and their families. When you work for Swift Transportation, you can rest assured that your healthcare coverage is covered by your employer. You can get regular checkups to maintain your health and know that coverage is there whenever you need other treatment.

Best health insurance for truck drivers

There are many different kinds of health insurance plans available for truck drivers, whether you work full-time for a single company, or you own your own truck driving business. Some of the options include:

Company-sponsored plans: Health insurance offered by a business, also known as group health insurance, is an employer-sponsored health insurance plan. The employer may cover most of the truck driver health insurance cost, so that you’ll only have to pay for a copay or pay towards a deductible when you need care. With a company-sponsored plan, such as Swift Transportation’s Credence Blue Cross Blue Shield for truck drivers, you’ll get access to a network of healthcare providers you can see wherever you are on your route. You’ll pay minimal costs, since the employer pays for the main part of the plan.
Individual health insurance policies: There are also individual health insurance brokers who sell private plans based on the individual’s needs. The individual will cover the full cost of their insurance plan for themselves (and their family, if applicable), which could cost several hundred dollars a month. These plans can be tailored to a truck driver’s needs. For example, an individual plan could include coverage for providers in the states the driver usually travels to. Because of the customization options, some truck drivers prefer selecting an individual plan that gives them full control of the plan features.
Government programs: The federal government offers several health insurance options. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has an individual and family health insurance marketplace, where people can buy an insurance plan of their choice during open enrollment, typically from November 1 through January 15 each year. There are also special qualifying life events, such as getting married or moving, that can trigger a special enrollment period at any time of year. Depending on factors like income, age and disability, individuals and their family members may also qualify for low-cost healthcare coverage through government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare.

In addition to traditional healthcare coverage through insurance plans, there are also alternatives, such as health sharing plans. With a health sharing plan, individuals in the health sharing organization make contributions toward a group cost that lowers healthcare costs when members need treatment. There are risks to options like these, including lack of coverage for specific healthcare needs.

Whatever healthcare option you choose, it’s important to understand all the details of the plan and make sure it’s providing coverage for what you, and potentially your family, need.

How to choose a health insurance plan

The best healthcare plan will fit both your budget and your healthcare needs. Swift Transportation partners with Blue Cross Blue Shield, which is one of the top-ranked health insurers in the U.S., to offer both affordable and comprehensive healthcare coverage to our employees and their families.

If you’re comparing health insurance providers, some top considerations to be aware of include:

Healthcare needs: Regular checkups can help you maintain better overall health year-round. It’s also important to have emergency care in place. If you’re interested in convenience and want telemedicine options for when you’re on the road, look for a plan that offers these.
Network availability: If your routes take you across county or state lines, you’ll want a provider that offers coverage where you travel to most frequently. Otherwise, you may have to pay extra for seeing out-of-network providers when you need to.
Affordability: Plans will have different monthly premium, deductible and out-of-pocket costs. For example, paying more in a monthly premium could lower your deductible. If you see a doctor regularly or have lots of prescriptions, it may be more cost-effective to choose a plan with a higher monthly premium. If you’re relatively healthy and don’t go to the doctor often, a plan with a higher deductible and lower monthly premium may make more sense.
Coverage: If you want to add family members to a plan, you’ll want to ensure what you choose extends to those dependents.

Talk with your benefits provider or health insurance broker to understand your options. If there are multiple plans available, they should be able to help make an expert recommendation based on your healthcare needs and budget.

Tips for staying healthy on the road

There’s another popular phrase related to healthcare: “Prevention is the best medicine.” This means that by taking a proactive approach to your health, you can stay in better shape and prevent problems that might arise due to an absence of healthy habits.

The National Library of Medicine recommends adopting healthy habits like the following to live longer and prevent health issues:

Eating a healthy, balanced diet
Participating in regular exercise, including both aerobic exercise and strength training
Not smoking
Avoiding alcohol
Maintaining a normal weight
Getting 8 hours of sleep a night

These are important healthy habits for truck drivers to adopt. With a reliable health insurance plan, you can also access healthcare while traveling. Covered options may include:

Telemedicine: Telemedicine offers a virtual connection to a physician or nurse through a web-connected device, like a smartphone. You can talk to a doctor about an ache or pain you’re feeling to get treatment options. Telemedicine may also extend to mental health services, such as counseling.
Urgent care and walk-in clinics: If you get sick or injured while you’re away from home, urgent care and walk-in health clinics offer immediate physician support. You can look up providers in your area who offer coverage through your insurance provider.
Emergency care: It’s helpful to understand your emergency care coverage before you go on the road. In some cases, such as when you’re unconscious and are driven to a hospital, your care may be covered by your insurer, even when it’s an out-of-network provider. If you’re able to choose a hospital in a medical emergency, it’s helpful to select one that offers coverage through your health insurance. Knowing these details before you get on the road can help make decision-making quicker and easier should a medical emergency occur.

A little planning before you get on the road can help ensure you choose cost-effective coverage, should you need it when you’re away from home. Again, talk with your benefits provider, who will be able to provide you with answers to questions and information about coverage before you leave.

How Swift supports truck driver health

When you work at Swift Transportation, you can enroll in our employer-sponsored healthcare plan for Credence Blue Cross Blue Shield for truck drivers. These plans include coverage for annual checkups, non-emergency walk-in clinic treatment, emergency room visits, telemedicine visits and more. You can choose between Value (PPO), Core (PPO) and Premium (EPO) plans, based on what you’re looking for in deductibles and annual out-of-pocket maximum payments.

Swift Transportation offers prescription drug coverage through CVS Caremark and dental coverage through Delta Dental, and vision plan coverage through VSP. Employees may also enroll in a flexible spending account (FSA), which enables you to set aside before-tax dollars from each paycheck into an account that can be used for eligible healthcare expenses.

Swift Transportation has other ways we support our staff. One program, Wellness GPS, is a partnership between Swift Transportation and WebMD that enables employees to set health and wellness goals based on personal needs and interests, then track progress and get resources to stay motivated. It’s a completely free program for employees and their spouses.

Swift drivers can speak with the Swift Benefits team if they have any questions about the offerings and how we can better support them.

Get started with Swift Transportation careers

If you want a stable job where you can grow your career and get the support and work benefits you need, Swift Transportation has in-demand jobs available now. We care deeply about our employees and provide health insurance and other benefits to support health and wellness.

For truck drivers who are owner-operators, there are health insurance options from the ACA Marketplace, as well as through private insurance, that are available. Health insurance is essential for taking care of one’s health, through both preventive measures like annual checkups, and by getting prompt treatment when you need it.

Swift Transportation has you covered with health insurance that works for all budgets and healthcare needs. You can grow a career in the truck industry and know you’re taken care of.

Whether you’ve got CDL experience or are a driver new to the industry, we want to hear from you!