Best Cheap Health Insurance in New York for 2023

New Yorkers can get affordable health insurance through the New York State of Health insurance marketplace and can get discounts if they have low to moderate incomes. If your household income is at or near the federal poverty level, you can get free or low-cost insurance through Medicaid.

Best cheap health insurance companies in New York

Independent Health and Fidelis Care offer the most affordable health insurance rates in New York for a Silver plan.

There are currently 15 insurers that sell individual plans on the New York health insurance marketplace. The availability of insurers and health plans changes by county, so your location will directly impact your coverage options.

Best cheap companies for a Silver plan in NY

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Cheapest health insurance plans in New York

Fidelis Care offers the cheapest health insurance plans in New York, across all levels of coverage. Although you can't find very low monthly rates in every county, they can be a useful starting point when you're looking for affordable health insurance plans available where you live.

Average cost of health insurance in New York

The average cost of health insurance in New York is $776 per month for a Silver plan. That's 39% higher than the national average, making NY one of the most expensive states for health insurance.

Health insurance is offered at five different tier levels in New York: Catastrophic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

Excluding Catastrophic plans because of their limited availability.

How the plan tier affects costs

As you can see above, when the tier level increases, the monthly premium becomes more expensive. A Silver plan in New York will cost $201 more per month than a Bronze plan, and a Gold plan will cost $165 more than a Silver plan.

However, medical benefits improve with higher tier plans, which makes them a good choice for those who need ongoing or expensive medical care. On average, a Silver plan will have a $3,221 lower deductible than a Bronze plan, which helps you reduce your upfront costs for medical care before the plan's full benefits kick in. A Gold plan has, on average, a $2,694 lower spending cap than a Silver plan, providing a much better limit to your medical expenses.

How family size affects costs

Health insurance costs in New York are affected by the number of adults on the plan and if you have dependents on the plan. Note that the number of dependents does not affect your costs.

For 2023, a couple with one or more children will pay an average of $1,891 per month for a Silver plan. This is $497 more than the couple would pay to cover themselves.

Choosing the best health insurance in New York

The best health insurance policy for your family will depend on the availability of plans in your area, as well as your medical and financial situation.

When deciding on the right plan, you can use the plan's tier to choose the right level of coverage for your medical needs.

Gold and Platinum plans: Best if you expect high medical costs

Gold and Platinum plans are usually the most cost-effective for people with higher medical costs or who take expensive prescriptions.

The plans often have the most expensive monthly costs but the best medical benefits, with lower deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. This means you can reach the deductible quickly and have a better limit on your health expenses.

Silver plans: Best for people with average medical costs or a low income

Silver plans are middle-ground policies that tend to fall between Gold and Bronze plans in both their monthly costs and medical benefits. This makes them a good choice for most people because they have a moderate level of coverage that's good for most situations.

For those who have a low income, Silver plans have an extra advantage. Those who have an income less than 250% of the federal poverty level are eligible for cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies, which provide discounts on deductibles, coinsurance and copayments, helping you to pay less for medical care.

Bronze and Catastrophic plans: Best for young, healthy people

Bronze and Catastrophic plans should only be considered if you have good health and do not expect to have high medical costs.

Typically, they are the cheapest plans available on the New York marketplace but also have the highest deductibles. This means you would have to pay full price for most of your routine health expenses. However, you'll have benefits like free preventive care, and you'll be protected from very high medical costs in situations where you need surgery or other expensive health services.

Bronze plans are available throughout New York. However, in order to sign up for a Catastrophic plan, you must be under the age of 30 or meet the requirements for a hardship exemption. Also, Catastrophic plans are not eligible for premium tax credits.

Health insurance rate changes in New York

For 2023, the cost of health insurance increased by an average of 9% across New York. That's an increase of about $88 per month.

Health insurance rates are determined by each insurer and are submitted for approval to the New York state exchange.

Average monthly health insurance rates

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New York individual health insurance plans overview

You can buy health insurance in New York through the NY State of Health marketplace. This is the New York equivalent of HealthCare.gov, also called "Obamacare."

New York is one of the most heavily regulated states for health insurance in the United States. While the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) limits how insurers can price their policies, New York's regulations are even more restrictive.

Open enrollment in New York

Open enrollment in New York is from Nov. 16 to Jan. 31 each year. This is a few weeks later than the open enrollment period in most other states, which goes from Nov. 1 through Jan. 15.

In New York, if you buy a health plan before Dec. 15, then the plan will begin on Jan. 1. Enrolling before Jan. 15 will give you coverage that starts on Feb. 1. And if you sign up during the last few weeks of January, your plan will begin on March 1.

Your age does not affect health insurance costs in New York

Most other states allow insurers to charge older people and smokers a higher health insurance premium. But in New York, insurers are prohibited from using any personal info for calculating premiums, using only where you live as a factor.

For both individual plans and small-business plans, all people living in a specific location pay the same price for health insurance. This means younger New York residents pay more for health coverage than they would in other states, while older residents pay less than they would in other states.

Young adults can stay on their parent's plan through age 29

New York is one of the eight states where young adults can be eligible to stay on their parent's health insurance plan beyond age 26.

Parents pay a little more for their health insurance in exchange for having their children stay on the family plan through the age of 29. Because of the way insurance is priced in New York, it's cheaper for young adults to stay on their parents' plans until the legal age limit rather than purchasing a separate individual plan.

To qualify, the young adult must:

Short-term health insurance in New York

Short-term health insurance plans are prohibited in New York because all health plans must be renewable and cover the minimum essential benefits.

Most short-term plans typically do not cover essential benefits such as maternity care, mental health or prescription drugs, so short-term health insurance is not offered in New York.

Medicaid health insurance coverage in New York

New York's Medicaid program provides health insurance for those with low incomes. Through the state's expansion of Medicaid, most households with an income less than 138% of the federal poverty level (FPL) are eligible for Medicaid coverage in New York.

The income limits for children and pregnant women are slightly higher than those for adults. Children up to the age of 19 are eligible for a special type of Medicaid if the household income is under 154% of the federal poverty level, while pregnant women and infants up to the age of 1 are eligible if the household earns less than 223% of the federal poverty level.

If you apply for Medicaid in New York, you will be asked to select a health plan managed by an insurance carrier, such as UnitedHealthcare or Empire BlueCross BlueShield. Each Medicaid plan will come with a network of doctors and health care providers that accept the insurance.

Child Health Plus coverage for children

In New York, Child Health Plus is a health insurance program for children in households that have incomes that are too high to qualify for Medicaid but are less than 400% of the federal poverty level.

The cost of the Child Health Plus plan is based on family size and household income, and the monthly cost per child ranges from $0 to $60.

Maximum monthly income per number of children to be eligible for Child Health Plus

For larger family sizes, check New York state's eligibility guide.

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Frequently asked questions

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Methodology

ValuePenguin collected rates from New York's state health insurance exchange. We gathered rates and plan details from every county in the state, then we averaged the rates and sorted them by metal tier and family size. This allowed us to compare rates and find the cheapest providers in New York.