Best Cheap Health Insurance in Delaware (2023)

The my Blue Access PPO Silver 5900 from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware is the cheapest Silver plan available in Delaware. If you are looking to purchase health insurance in the Blue Hen State, you can find cheap individual policies on the state insurance exchange.

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware is the only insurance provider in the state, but the company offers a variety of policies, which allows you the flexibility to choose a plan that fits your financial situation.

Delaware has also passed the expanded version of Medicaid, which is available if your income falls at or below 138% of the federal poverty level.

Cheapest health insurance by plan tier

Health insurance in Delaware is broken down into five different plan tiers: Catastrophic, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. We compared all the policies available in each tier and identified cheap health insurance options available to you. Rates are for the cheapest plan at each level of coverage, along with the deductible, out-of-pocket maximum and monthly cost for a 40-year-old.

A policyholder's age has the biggest effect on the premium when trying to purchase a health insurance policy. The average cost of a health plan increases significantly with age. For example, a Gold health insurance plan costs $127 more per month for a 40-year-old compared to a 21-year-old, whereas 60-year-olds pay $655 more on average than 40-year-olds.

Finding the best health insurance coverage in Delaware

Monthly rates are not the only aspects of health insurance policies that you should consider. Cost sharing, such as deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, are just as important to evaluate before purchasing a health plan.

In Delaware, the best health insurance coverage tier depends on your level of income and expected medical costs. Households and families with higher medical costs should lean toward policies with lower deductibles, while healthier individuals could opt for cheaper plans.

Catastrophic and Bronze plans: Best for healthy individuals

The cheapest Catastrophic plan in Delaware is the my Blue Access Major Events PPO Catastrophic 9100. The cheapest Bronze plan is the my Blue Access PPO Bronze 3800. Compare all tiers in Delaware.

Bronze and Catastrophic plans are the cheapest health insurance policies offered on the Delaware exchange. But these plans have high deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, which can be expensive if you use medical services throughout the year.

For this reason, we only recommend Bronze and Catastrophic plans if you are very healthy and do not need routine medical care. Also, Catastrophic plans are only available if you are under the age of 30 or have received a hardship exemption. Catastrophic plans are not eligible for premium tax credits.

Silver plans: Average premiums and deductibles

The cheapest Silver plan is the my Blue Access PPO Silver 5900. Compare all tiers in Delaware.

Silver metal tier health plans are good policies for beginning your health insurance search because of their modest premiums and deductibles. These plans are generally used as benchmarks for the other exchange health policies and are a middle ground between Bronze and Gold tiers.

The cheapest Silver health insurance policy in every county in the state — Kent, New Castle and Sussex — is the my Blue Access PPO Silver 5900 plan. To help you find the best health plan for your needs, we listed below each Silver policy available in Delaware, along with cost-sharing features and average premiums for a 40-year-old.

Silver plans are the only health insurance policies in Delaware that are eligible for cost-sharing reductions, making them a good option for low-income households. These reductions further decrease the amount of copays, coinsurance and deductibles, but are only available if your household income falls below 250% of the federal poverty level.

All Silver plans in Delaware are PPOs, which offers some flexibility with covering out-of-network services.

Gold and Platinum plans: High premiums but smaller deductibles

The cheapest Gold plan in Delaware is the my Blue Access PPO Gold 0. The cheapest Platinum plan is the my Blue Access PPO Platinum 0. Compare all tiers in Delaware.

Gold and Platinum health insurance plans typically have the highest premiums across all metal tiers, but may be a smart choice if you expect to have high or frequent medical expenses. This is due to a low deductible, which allows coverage to begin sooner.

For example, the my Blue Access PPO Gold 0 plan has a deductible of $0, while the my Blue Access PPO Bronze 3800 Bronze Expanded plan has a deductible of $8,700. The lower deductible means you'll have to pay full price for fewer services before your insurance kicks in.

Health insurance rate changes in Delaware

Health insurance in Delaware is regulated through the state and federal health insurance exchanges. Annually, insurance providers adjust their plans' premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, which are then approved for the following plan year.

For 2023, health insurance premiums for all plan tiers in Delaware increased from 2022. Platinum rates rose the most, with policy prices rising 12% for 2023 compared to 2022.

For 2023, Expanded Bronze plans are no longer offered in Delaware, and shoppers only have access to Bronze plans. Even with this change, the average cost for Bronze plans increased by 6%.

Health insurance companies in Delaware

Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware is the only health insurance company on the Delaware state exchange. This limits the number of options for residents, but Highmark offers multiple policies within some metal tiers. For instance, it offers three Silver metal tier health plans: my Blue Access PPO Silver 5900, my Blue Access PPO Standard Silver 5800 and my Blue Access PPO Standard Silver 5800 + Adult Dental and Vision. These options provide some flexibility when you search for health insurance.

Average cost of health insurance by family size in Delaware

Health insurance costs depend on the number of people insured under the policy, as well as their ages.

For example, a single adult costs $566 per month to insure, on average, while the cost of a child increases the typical policy price by $339 per month. By extension, the cost of a family with one child is $1,470, and the price for a family of four is $1,809 per month.

Methodology

Health insurance rates and plans in Delaware were downloaded from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) government website. Using the premiums for each policy, ValuePenguin calculated average values for a variety of factors, including metal tier, family size and county. Plans and providers for which county-level data was included in the CMS Crosswalk file were used in our analysis; those excluded from this dataset may not appear.