Best Cheap Health Insurance in Wisconsin (2023)

Affordable health insurance is available in Wisconsin through the state's marketplace.

The Together with CCHP Chorus Silver and the Engage by Medica Silver Standard plans were the cheapest Silver health plans in the majority of Wisconsin counties. However, availability and costs vary across counties.

Cheapest health insurance by plan tier

We compared policies in Wisconsin by plan tier to find the most affordable health insurance policy at each level of coverage on the state exchange. Although availability depends on the county you live in, the table provides a good starting point to compare the costs and benefits you can expect from a given metal tier.

As you can see above, health plan rates vary widely depending on the plan tier. Although the cheapest options for health insurance plans in Wisconsin offer low rates, they are limited in availability by location.

In addition to a policy's plan tier, your age is an important factor in determining the cost of a health insurance plan. As age increases, health insurance premiums across all plan tiers rise.

For example, the average price difference between a 21-year-old and a 40-year-old ranges from $63 to $120 per month in Wisconsin, depending on the plan tier of the health plan you choose. A 40-year-old would pay $120 more per month than a 21-year-old for a Silver plan but only $63 more on average with a Catastrophic plan.

See our full methodology.

Finding your best health insurance coverage in Wisconsin

The best health insurance plan for you in Wisconsin will depend on the county you live in, as even the same policy may have different monthly premiums based on where you live. For example, the Dean Focus Network Silver HSA-E HDHP 3550X plan has a monthly premium of $397 in Dane County but costs $65 more per month in Green County.

Typically, higher metal tier policies have costlier monthly premiums, but they also provide lower out-of-pocket expenses, like deductibles, copays and coinsurance. If you think you may become sick or already have high recurring medical costs, like prescriptions, a higher plan tier may be the best choice for you. Alternatively, if you're young and healthy, a lower plan tier may help you save money.

Gold and Platinum plans: Best for high expected medical costs

The cheapest Gold plan in Wisconsin is the Dean Focus Network Gold Value Copay 4000X. The cheapest Platinum plan in Wisconsin is the Select Platinum 1000 Ded/4000 MOOP. Compare all tiers in the state above.

Platinum and Gold plans are considered higher metal tier health plans. They typically cover the greatest share of out-of-pocket costs, which means lower deductibles, copays and coinsurance. But these benefits come at the expense of a higher monthly premium.

Generally, these health insurance plans are the best in terms of cost-effectiveness if you expect to incur high medical expenses, such as from chronic conditions, or if you have costly prescriptions. 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 in Wisconsin is the Anthem Silver Pathway/Lean 5800/40% Standard. Compare all tiers in the state above.

Silver policies offer a middle ground between higher metal tier plans, like Platinum or Gold, and lower metal tier plans, like Bronze. For middle- and higher-income households, in terms of monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs, Silver plans fall between higher and lower metal tier plans.

But lower-income households can qualify for cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies with a Silver health plan, which would further lower your out-of-pocket expenses. Typical Silver plans cover about 70% of your health care costs, while you pay 30%. But under CSR subsidies, you could qualify for a Silver plan that covers up to 94% of your health care costs.

Bronze and Catastrophic plans: Best for young, healthy people

The cheapest Bronze plan in Wisconsin is the Dean Focus Network Bronze Value Copay 9050X. The cheapest Catastrophic plan in Wisconsin is the Enrich Protection. Compare all tiers in the state above.

Catastrophic plans may offer low monthly rates, but they are limited to those under 30 years old or those who qualify for an exemption. These plans also provide the least coverage and are only recommended if you have the financial means to cover a large portion of your health care expenses in case of an emergency. Catastrophic plans also are not eligible for premium tax credits.

Bronze plans are open to everyone and similarly offer cheaper monthly premiums than higher metal tier plans, alongside reduced coverage and higher out-of-pocket costs. So if you need medical care during the year, you would have to pay more money out of pocket before coverage kicks in.

On average, you can expect a Bronze plan to cover about 60% of your health care costs, while you pay for the other 40%. Expanded Bronze plans increase coverage to about 65%, while you pay roughly 35%.

Short-term health insurance in Wisconsin

Wisconsin residents may buy short-term health insurance through private health insurance companies, although the state imposes stricter guidelines on this type of plan when compared to federal guidelines.

Initial coverage is limited to one year. While the plan can be renewed, a plan's total duration cannot be longer than 18 months.

You can consider a short-term health insurance plan if you need temporary coverage or lost coverage through your employer. These policies are not required to cover the essential health benefits, including maternity care, mental health services and prescription drugs, that are included under the Affordable Care Act.

Best cheap health insurance companies in Wisconsin

With 13 health insurance companies, the health insurance marketplace in Wisconsin has one of the country's largest selections of insurers.

Although there are 13 companies across the state, most counties only have two or three health insurers to choose from, and no health insurance company is available in every county. When possible, we recommend starting your search with either Dean Health Plan or Medica Community Health Plan, as they offer the cheapest Silver plans in most counties.

Cheapest health insurance plan by county

Because the county you live in determines the availability of health insurers, the policies available and their rates, finding the best health plan for you may be difficult. To make this process simpler, in the table below we compared monthly rates for every Silver policy in Wisconsin to find the cheapest Silver health plan in each county.

Average cost of health insurance by family size in Wisconsin

Plan tier and age play an important role in determining the cost for individual monthly premiums, but in addition to these, family size will affect your health insurance rates. In Wisconsin, the average cost of health insurance for a family of three with a Silver plan, assuming two 40-year-old parents and a child, is $1,428 per month.

For each child, the average cost of a Silver health plan increases by around $329, so a family of four, assuming two parents and two children, would pay an average of $1,757 per month for health coverage. Note that the cost of insuring children through age 14 remains flat, but once they turn 15 years old, the monthly premium will increase as they get older.

Health insurance rate changes in Wisconsin

Policy premiums are set by individual health companies. Then, once the rates have been determined by an insurer, they are sent to the federal health insurance exchange for approval.

In Wisconsin, the average cost of a health plan across all tiers increased by 8% from 2022 to 2023. The average rate for each policy type saw an increase, with the cost of Bronze plans increasing the most, by 11%.

Methodology

The health insurance premiums and plan information used in this analysis were sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website. ValuePenguin determined the average rates by plan tier, age, family size and county by referencing cost data from the CMS public use files (PUFs). 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.