Congratulations and welcome! I'm pretty new too so I only have a few answers.

A partner card is a little id card with your partner number on it. They should give you one in your new partner kit. It's just paper, but if you want you can request a "real" one (no one I know even uses them, since you mostly just need your number for stuff and you'll end up having that memorized pretty quickly!)

Shifts are based on your availability, so if you say you're not available on a day/time you won't get scheduled for it. My store manager is really nice with letting people choose when they work best, but I'm pretty sure it varies by store and what they need. I think it's just something you've got to talk to your store manager about.

Idk anything about insurance yet though, because I don't have enough hours yet to be eligible (I've only been working there a month). I hope this helps a little, and congratulations again! <3

During the process of the application to health insurance you will have the opportunity to view reviews on each plan as well as look up services that accept the plans in your area. If you already have an established healthcare provider you can call them to make sure they accept one of the plans that are available. If this is your first time getting your own insurance, you should make sure you are familiar with how deductibles work in order to make a decision that will suit your needs.

As a side note, in terms of your shifts these will be based on an availability form you either have filled out or are about to be asked to. Shifts are scheduled 3 weeks ahead and days requested off are generally needed to be set a month in advance, especially if it's more than one day at a time. You are allowed to arrange for your shifts to be covered by another partner but this should be approved of by at least a shift supervisor if not the store manager. I would advise taking a picture of each week's schedule so you know who is available in case you need coverage.

Welcome to the company! :)

You do not get to pick your own shifts. Like any job, you are scheduled when you have open availability, whenever that may be.

As for health insurance, there is no best one. It just depends on which one you think works best for you, I.e. if you are sick a lot/aren’t, if you have multiple prescriptions or not, if you have existing health problems, etc.