Best Cheap Health Insurance in Louisiana (2023)

Cheapest health insurance by metal tier

Finding the best health plan with the coverage to fit your needs can be challenging, so we compared health insurance plans in Louisiana by metal tier in order to determine the most affordable policies available for each level of coverage. The insurers and policies below may not be available in your region, but you can use this information as a starting point to compare the costs and benefits you can expect from a given metal tier.

For example, the Christus Silver plan has a minimum monthly premium of $496 (before subsidies) for a 40-year-old in Louisiana shopping for Silver coverage. This is $57 less than the monthly premium for the cheapest Gold plan. In exchange for this lower rate, you would have to pay more out of pocket — the Silver health plan's deductible, for instance, is $1,250 greater than that of the Gold plan.

Two factors that greatly affect your monthly health insurance premiums are metal tier and age. The metal tier, or coverage tier, affects how much money you pay out of pocket. You have lower deductibles, copays and coinsurance with higher tiers — but also higher monthly premiums.

And as your age increases, the monthly health insurance rates you have to pay increase across metal tiers. For a Silver health care plan, a 40-year-old in Louisiana pays 28% more on average than a 21-year-old for the same level of coverage. A 60-year-old pays 112% more than a 40-year-old for the same health plan.

Finding your best health insurance coverage in Louisiana

In Louisiana, the availability and costs of policies vary depending on the region in which you live. Higher metal tier health plans, like Gold plans, come with lower out-of-pocket expenses, like deductibles, copays and coinsurance, but they have higher monthly premiums. These plans can be good for those with chronic medical conditions that incur high medical costs or those who get sick often.

On the other hand, if you're young and healthy — and have the financial means to cover a higher portion of your medical costs in the event of an emergency — a lower metal tier health plan may be the better choice to lower your costs.

Gold plans: Best for high expected medical costs

On average, the cheapest Gold plan in Louisiana is the Ambetter Everyday Gold. Compare all tiers in Louisiana above.

Gold plans are considered higher metal tier health plans. These are most cost-effective for people with high expected medical costs. Although Gold plans have some of the highest monthly rates, they also tend to cover the greatest portion of out-of-pocket costs.

On average, you can expect a Gold plan to cover roughly 80% of your health care expenses, while you pay the other 20%.

Silver plans: Best for those with low incomes or average medical costs

The cheapest Silver plan on average in Louisiana is the Christus Silver. However, this plan isn't as widely available as other Silver plans. The cheapest Silver plan in 66% of counties is the Blue POS 80/60 $3400. Compare all tiers in Louisiana above.

Silver plans are a good middle ground — they usually have better coverage than Bronze plans but lower monthly rates than Gold plans.

Lower-income households can qualify for cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies that reduce out-of-pocket expenses for Silver health plans. Typical Silver plans cover about 70% of your health care costs, while you pay 30%. But with CSR subsidies, you could qualify for a Silver plan that covers up to 94% of your health care costs. These health policies often offer the best value for coverage for low-income families.

Bronze plans: Best for young, healthy people

The cheapest Bronze plan in Louisiana is the Christus Bronze. Compare all tiers in Louisiana above.

Bronze plans offer cheaper monthly premiums than higher metal tier plans at the expense of reduced coverage and higher out-of-pocket costs. Bronze is the lowest tier available on the state exchange and is best for those who don't have high medical costs or can afford to cover a larger portion of cost sharing.

On average, you can expect a Bronze plan to cover about 60% of your health care costs, while you pay for the other 40%.

Medicaid

Louisiana expanded Medicaid for residents under the Affordable Care Act in 2016. If your income is less than 138% of the federal poverty level, you may qualify for Medicaid coverage in the state.

Health insurance rate changes in Louisiana

In Louisiana, health insurance providers adjust their plan premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums on a yearly basis.

For 2023, the cost of Bronze, Silver and Gold health insurance plans decreased by an average of 8%. The cost of Silver plans decreased the most, by 10%.

Short-term health insurance in Louisiana

If you temporarily need a more affordable option for health insurance, then a short-term health insurance plan may make financial sense for you. These types of plans have lower monthly premiums but often do not cover the essential benefits or preexisting conditions required by the Affordable Care Act.

In Louisiana, state regulations limit short-term health insurance plans to six months. This is different from federal regulations, which allow you to take out short-term health insurance policies for up to a year. Some insurance providers can offer short-term health insurance plans for durations of up to 12 months, but these plans have different restrictions for the coverage of preexisting conditions. The state follows federal guidelines for renewals, which are allowed for up to 36 months.

Best cheap health insurance companies in Louisiana

There are currently six health insurance companies that offer marketplace plans in Louisiana:

Although the best policy differs in each parish, we recommend starting your search for the best cheap health insurance policy with HMO Louisiana, as it offers the most affordable Silver plan options in 46 parishes in the state.

Cheapest health insurance plan by parish

Louisiana is divided into parishes, which are similar to counties. The parish in which you live determines the availability of policies and their rates. For instance, the Signature Blue 80/60 $3400 plan costs $510 per month in Orleans Parish for a 40-year-old and is the cheapest Silver plan in that parish, while a Blue POS 80/60 $3400 plan costs $585 in Caldwell Parish and is the most affordable for residents there.

To help you get started, we compared rates for every policy in Louisiana and identified the cheapest Silver health plan in each parish. The table below contains sample rates of these policies for a single adult, a couple and a family of three.

Average cost of health insurance by family size in Louisiana

If you're looking for insurance to cover your entire family, the cost of your monthly premium is determined based on your chosen health plan and the ages of your family members. For children under the age of 15, the monthly health insurance premium remains flat. Once a child turns 15, the cost of the monthly premium increases as they get older.

The average cost of a Silver health insurance policy for an adult couple in Louisiana is $1,304 per month, assuming it covers two 40-year-old adults. If you add a child, then the average monthly cost would increase by about $390, so a family of three would pay an average of $1,694 per month for medical insurance. By extension, the average cost for a family of four with two adults and two children would be $2,084.