Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
Prefer to talk? Call (713) 575-9904
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 23 States
Alabama is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $680/month for the median Silver plan, versus $765 — a difference of $85/month (12%) before subsidies.
| Alabama | Kansas | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $680 | $765 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $583 | $565 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,124 | $979 |
| Age 27 | $478 | $463 |
| Age 60 | $1,238 | $1,200 |
| Carriers | 4 | 6 |
| Counties | 67 | 105 |
| 1-carrier counties | 7 | 14 |
| Plan types | EPO, PPO | EPO |
Network note: Kansas has no PPO plans in 2026 while Alabama does.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits; not a quote or an offer of coverage.
This page sets two states against each other. For county-by-county carriers, plan data and help actually enrolling, I publish a page for each state on Coverage by County: Alabama or Kansas. There is also a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment periods.
Change the age or income and both states recalculate: the 2027 marketplace price after any tax credit, and the private plan estimate.
| Monthly, age 45, $85,000 | Alabama | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $880 | $905 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $880 | $905 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $350–$470 | $255–$475 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $300 a year more in Kansas than in Alabama, at full price in both, since that income is over the tax-credit line.
2027 estimates: KFF 2026 benchmark raised by each state’s average 2027 change, on the federal age curve; 2027 tax credit rules. Your county will differ. Every state at once: what you would pay in each state.
Put your ZIP code in and a licensed agent will show you the carriers filing in your county, what the cheapest plan costs, and what you would actually pay after any help you qualify for. No cost, and you talk to a licensed agent — not a call center.
Relocating between Alabama and Kansas counts as a qualifying life event. That buys a 60-day special enrollment period, dated from the move, to choose among Kansas’s 6 filing carriers. Two conditions apply: at least one day of qualifying coverage during the 60 days beforehand, and the move cannot be purely for medical treatment or a holiday.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the Alabama policy ends and a Kansas application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
Some continuity is possible: Oscar Insurance Company and UnitedHealthcare file in both, out of 4 in Alabama and 6 in Kansas. Same company is easier paperwork, but it is a different plan on a different network at a different price.
This is the asymmetry that bites. Alabama has PPO plans across all 67 counties; Kansas sells none in any of its 105. The PPO is the plan type most likely to pay outside its own network, so heading toward Kansas usually costs you the ability to see Alabama providers for anything short of an emergency.
You cannot carry one plan in Alabama and a second in Kansas. Eligibility follows primary residence, the address on your return, and everything received in the other state is normally out of network.
State averages hide enormous county-level spread. Whichever of Alabama or Kansas you are in, your ZIP is what sets your premium.
★★★★★
“I run my own business and my time is valuable. Daniel handled everything — compared the private options, explained what I was actually getting, and had me covered fast. Way better experience than trying to navigate it myself.”