Best Cheap Health Insurance in Kansas (2023)
In Kansas, you can buy cheap health insurance plans through the state's marketplace. And depending on your household income, you might qualify for health insurance through Medicaid.
For 2023, the average health insurance cost in Kansas is $545 for a 40-year-old. This is an increase of 5% compared to the 2022 plan year.
We researched all of the health insurance plans in Kansas to help you find your best health insurance coverage. Depending on the county you live in, either the Ambetter Clear Silver or the BlueCare EPO Silver Plus is probably the cheapest Silver plan available. However, the cost of a policy could vary by region, and depending on your needs, you may want to buy a plan in a different tier.
Cheapest health insurance by plan tier
We studied health insurance plans in Kansas by plan tier to find out which policies are the cheapest for each degree of coverage. Depending on which county you live in, the insurers and health plans listed below may not be offered in your area. However, these plans are a good starting point in comparing the costs and benefits you can expect from different levels of coverage.
Plan tier | Cheapest plan | Monthly cost for a 40-year-old | Deductible | Out-of-pocket maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catastrophic | Oscar Insurance Co. Secure | $307 | $9,100 | $9,100 |
| Bronze | Ascension Personalized Care Balanced Bronze 2 | $316 | $9,100 | $9,100 |
| Silver | Ascension Personalized Care Low Premium Silver | $443 | $1,000 | $2,100 |
| Gold | Ambetter CMS Standard Gold | $466 | $750 | $8,700 |
Two important factors in determining insurance premiums are metal tier and age. Higher metal tiers offer lower out-of-pocket costs, which means you'll pay less if you need to use your health insurance, but this also means you’ll pay higher monthly premiums.
Age also plays a large role in determining health insurance rates — as you get older, premiums become more expensive. As you can see below, a 40-year-old in Kansas would pay $123 per month more on average than a 21-year-old on a Silver plan.
Finding your best health insurance coverage in Kansas
Available insurers change by county, so the best cheap health insurance plan available to you in Kansas will depend on where you live and the level of coverage you choose.
Higher metal tier health plans, like Gold policies, have monthly premiums that are not as cheap as Silver policy premiums but have much lower out-of-pocket expenses, like deductibles, copays and coinsurance. So, if you have costly prescriptions or are worried about the high costs of an unexpected illness, a higher metal tier plan will probably be your best health insurance choice.
On the other hand, if you are young and healthy, or have no expected medical costs and want to keep your monthly rates down, a lower tier plan may be a good option.
Gold plans: Best for people who expect high medical costs
The cheapest Gold plan in Kansas is the Ambetter CMS Standard Gold. Compare all tiers in Kansas above.
Gold health insurance plans have the lowest costs if you need to use your insurance often since Gold plans may have lower deductibles and copays. However, the monthly premium you can expect to pay may be higher. These health plans are best if you have high expected medical costs, such as ongoing prescriptions, or you are concerned about being able to pay out of pocket for an unexpected condition.
Silver plans: Best for people with average medical costs or low incomes
The cheapest Silver plan in Kansas is the Ascension Personalized Care Low Premium Silver. Compare all tiers in Kansas above.
A Silver health plan may be best if you would like a policy that has lower out-of-pocket costs than a Bronze plan but a more affordable monthly premium than a Gold plan. These plans are also eligible for cost-sharing subsidies, which lower your out-of-pocket expenses if you are part of a lower-income household.
Bronze and Catastrophic plans: Best for young people
The cheapest Bronze plan in Kansas is the Ascension Personalized Care Balanced Bronze 2. The cheapest Catastrophic plan is the Oscar Insurance Co. Secure. Compare all tiers in Kansas above.
Catastrophic and Bronze plans offer an affordable alternative to Silver and Gold plans, as their monthly premiums are less expensive. However, Catastrophic plans are only available to those who are under 30 or qualify for an exemption.
It's important to note that if you are covered under a Catastrophic health plan, you cannot use a premium tax credit to reduce your cost.
Bronze plans are available to everyone, and these lower metal tier policies have cheap monthly premiums for health insurance — but they come with much higher deductibles. So if you need medical care during the year, you have to pay more money out of pocket before coverage kicks in.
If you can cover the high cost-sharing in the event of an emergency and expect to have low medical costs, a Bronze plan may be your best low-cost option for health insurance coverage.
Health insurance rate changes in Kansas
Health insurance rates are set yearly by insurance providers and then approved by federal regulators for the following plan year.
For 2023, Catastrophic plans experienced the largest increase in costs — rising 8% compared to 2022. On the other hand, Gold plans are 1% more expensive for 2023.
Plan tier | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Change (2022 to 2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catastrophic | $364 | $490 | $527 | 8% |
| Bronze | $437 | $467 | $487 | 4% |
| Silver | $539 | $534 | $565 | 6% |
| Gold | $572 | $594 | $602 | 1% |
Monthly rates are based on a 40-year-old adult.
Short-term health insurance in Kansas
Short-term health insurance is offered by insurance providers with limited restrictions in Kansas. These plans follow federal guidelines with maximum coverage periods of one year. However, you can only renew short-term health insurance coverage one time and not for 36 months like in some other states.
In Kansas, short-term health plans do not necessarily cover the essential health benefits, and they require medical underwriting. For this reason, you should be careful when selecting short-term health insurance as your primary health care coverage.
Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in Your Area
Best cheap health insurance companies in Kansas
There are eight health insurance companies on the Kansas state exchange. However, none of these insurers are available in every county.
- Ambetter from Sunflower Health Plan
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Inc.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
- Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co.
- Medica Insurance Co.
- Oscar Insurance Co.
- UnitedHealthcare
- US Health and Life Insurance Co.
When searching for the best health insurance for you, we recommend starting with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Inc. or Ambetter, as they typically provide the cheapest Silver health plan in the counties where they are available.
Cheapest health insurance plan by county
To help you get started in your search for the best health plan, we identified the most affordable Silver health insurance policies available on the state exchange by county. Below, you can see which policy has the best rate for your county, as well as some sample monthly premiums for individuals and families.
County name | Cheapest Silver plan | Age 40 | Couple, age 40 | Couple, age 40 and child |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen | Ambetter Virtual Access Silver | $450 | $900 | $1,170 |
| Anderson | Ambetter Clear Silver | $456 | $911 | $1,184 |
| Atchison | Ambetter Clear Silver | $456 | $911 | $1,184 |
| Barber | Ambetter Clear Silver | $456 | $911 | $1,184 |
| Barton | Ambetter Clear Silver | $456 | $911 | $1,184 |
| Bourbon | Ambetter Virtual Access Silver | $450 | $900 | $1,170 |
| Brown | Ambetter Clear Silver | $456 | $911 | $1,184 |
| Butler | Ascension Personalized Care Low Premium Silver | $443 | $886 | $1,151 |
| Chase | Ambetter Clear Silver | $456 | $911 | $1,184 |
| Chautauqua | Ambetter Clear Silver | $456 | $911 | $1,184 |
| Cherokee | Ambetter Virtual Access Silver | $450 | $900 | $1,170 |
| Cheyenne | Ambetter Clear Silver | $456 | $911 | $1,184 |
Average cost of health insurance by family size in Kansas
Health insurance rates change based on the number of people who need coverage and their ages. Children below the age of 15 qualify for lower health insurance premiums, which remain flat. But once a child reaches the age of 15, the premium will increase each year as they grow older.
For example, the average cost of Silver health insurance for a family of three is $1,467 in Kansas, assuming two 40-year-old parents and a child. For each child, the average cost of a Silver health plan increases by around $338, so a family of four (two 40-year-olds and two children) would cost an average of $1,805 per month to insure.
Family size | Average cost |
|---|---|
| Individual and child | $902 |
| Couple, age 40 | $1,129 |
| Family of three (adult couple and a child) | $1,467 |
| Family of four (adult couple and two children) | $1,805 |
| Family of five (adult couple and three children) | $2,143 |
Adults are assumed to be 40 years old. Children are assumed to be 14 or younger. Sample rates are based on the average monthly cost of a Silver plan in Kansas.
Methodology
The health insurance rate and policy data used in this analysis was from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) documents. ValuePenguin used the CMS public use files (PUFs) to get average state premiums across a variety of factors such as age, plan tier, county and family size. Plans and providers for which county-level data was included in the CMS Crosswalk file were used in our analysis; those excluded from this data set may not appear.