Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Michigan is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $708/month for the median Silver plan, versus $765 — a difference of $57/month (8%) before subsidies.
| Michigan | Kansas | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $708 | $765 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $385 | $565 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,048 | $979 |
| Age 27 | $316 | $463 |
| Age 60 | $818 | $1,200 |
| Carriers | 7 | 6 |
| Counties | 83 | 105 |
| 1-carrier counties | 0 | 14 |
| Plan types | EPO, HMO, PPO | EPO |
Network note: Kansas has no PPO plans in 2026 while Michigan 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: Michigan 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 | Michigan | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $677 | $905 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $677 | $905 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $350–$475 | $255–$475 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $2,736 a year more in Kansas than in Michigan, 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.
A Michigan-to-Kansas move triggers a 60-day special enrollment period, so the 6 carriers filing in Kansas are open to you outside the usual window. The catch is on both ends — you normally need to have carried qualifying coverage for a day or more in the 60 days before moving, and moves made for treatment or travel are excluded.
There is no transfer to request. Michigan coverage stops, Kansas coverage starts, and the premium is rebuilt from your new county rather than carried over.
Of the 7 carriers in Michigan and 6 in Kansas, Oscar Insurance Company and UnitedHealthcare appear in both. That overlap is worth knowing if continuity of insurer matters to you, though the plan itself is new either way.
This is the asymmetry that bites. Michigan has PPO plans across all 83 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 Michigan providers for anything short of an emergency.
You cannot carry one plan in Michigan 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.
Neither Michigan nor Kansas has one price. Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will pull the plans in that county and work out what help you qualify for.
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