Best Cheap Health Insurance in New Jersey 2023

This is the most affordable Silver plan in 17 of the state's 20 counties. In the other counties, the cheapest Silver plans are AmeriHealth's IHC Silver EPO and Oscar's Silver Simple.

The cheapest Bronze plan in New Jersey is from Aetna and costs $356 per month. The cheapest Gold plan in New Jersey is from Oscar, costing $669 per month.

Cheapest health insurance coverage by metal tier

To help you compare policies, we looked at the cheapest health plans by metal tier available on the New Jersey state exchange. The cost of coverage in New Jersey will depend on the type of plan you choose and your age.

Higher-tier plans will cost more each month, and a 40-year-old will spend nearly twice as much for a Gold plan than a Bronze plan. However, higher-tier plans usually have better benefits, so those with Gold plans would pay less for medical care.

The cost of health insurance also increases as you age. On average, a 40-year-old in New Jersey spends 28% more on a Silver plan than a 21-year-old. Moreover, someone aged 60 pays an average of 71% more than a 40-year-old for a Silver insurance plan.

Below are the cheapest plans in New Jersey by metal tier. These plans may not be available in all areas of the state, but they're a good starting point for the types of benefits and costs you can expect.

As you can see, while the monthly cost for a Bronze plan is cheaper than a Gold plan, the deductible for a Bronze plan is $4,250 more than the Gold plan. That means with a Bronze plan, you'd pay for much more of your medical care out of pocket before the cost-sharing benefits begin.

Finding your best health insurance coverage in New Jersey

Your cheapest options for health care coverage will depend on your income level. The state of New Jersey has expanded its Medicaid coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which means people whose income is under 138% of the federal poverty level may qualify for subsidized coverage at reduced or no cost.

If you don't qualify for Medicaid, then your best options for cheap health insurance coverage will be a Bronze or Silver plan through the New Jersey health insurance marketplace. These plans have lower rates, and those with low or moderate incomes can qualify for tax subsidies to reduce monthly costs.

When it comes to the cost of health care, you should take both premiums and out-of-pocket costs into account. Getting the best health plan for your situation is about finding the right balance between the two.

Plans with lower premiums will generally have higher deductibles, copays and coinsurance, which means you will be responsible for a larger portion of costs before the plan's benefits kick in.

For those people with higher expected medical costs, the best health insurance plan would usually have a lower deductible and a higher monthly premium. Those who are healthier and rarely use medical care should look for the opposite type of plan: low monthly costs with a higher deductible.

Silver plans: Best if you have standard medical expenses

Silver plans are a good middle ground for most people because they balance the cost of monthly premiums with the plan's cost-sharing benefits. They are also the only type of plan that's eligible for cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies that kick in if your income is low.

The CSRs can actually improve the benefits of these plans to be comparable to higher-priced Gold plans. People who qualify for subsidies are almost always better off choosing a Silver plan because it will outperform more expensive plans.

The cheapest Silver plan in New Jersey is Silver 1: Aetna Whole Health network ($0 MinuteClinic + $0 CVS Health Virtual Care). Compare all tiers in New Jersey above.

Healthier and younger people should consider cheap Bronze plans

At the lower end of the premium spectrum are the Bronze plans, which cost less, but you'll generally pay more for routine medical care. In New Jersey, these plans usually have deductibles in the $3,000 to $6,000 range, and the plan will start covering your medical care only after you’ve spent that amount.

Even so, there are two major financial benefits of having a higher deductible plan. First, the plans can protect you from the high cost of emergency care or a catastrophic expense, which can range from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Second, even if you're paying for an expense out of pocket before meeting the deductible, the amount you will pay is based on the cost negotiated between the insurance company and the medical provider. This negotiated price can be much lower than what the service provider usually charges.

The cheapest Bronze plan in New Jersey is Bronze: Aetna Whole Health network (MinuteClinic + CVS Health Virtual Care) HDHP. Compare all tiers in New Jersey above.

Health insurance rate changes in New Jersey

In New Jersey, the average cost of all health insurance plans increased by 3% from 2022 to 2023. Bronze plans saw the largest price jump, increasing 5% from the previous year, though Gold plans followed closely.

Short-term health insurance in New Jersey

Due to long-standing health insurance laws, New Jersey prohibits the sale of short-term health insurance. All health policies in the state must provide full-year coverage and comprehensive benefits and be guaranteed-issue. Typically, short-term plans do not cover the essential benefits and require medical underwriting to be issued. Due to these reasons, you can't buy these types of plans in New Jersey.

Best cheap health insurance companies in New Jersey

This year, there are five health insurance companies on the New Jersey state exchange, as Aetna CVS Health joined for 2023:

Cheapest health insurance plan by county

The insurers and health plans available will vary depending on where you live. To help you get started in your search for health insurance, we compared all New Jersey policies and identified the cheapest Silver plan in every county, along with sample rates.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

ValuePenguin gathered 2023 health insurance rates from New Jersey's state exchange, GetCoveredNJ. Using the plan details, we calculated monthly averages and cheapest costs based on county, metal tier and age.