Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Wisconsin is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $687/month for the median Silver plan, versus $765 — a difference of $78/month (11%) before subsidies.
| Wisconsin | Kansas | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $687 | $765 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $526 | $565 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,062 | $979 |
| Age 27 | $431 | $463 |
| Age 60 | $1,116 | $1,200 |
| Carriers | 12 | 6 |
| Counties | 72 | 105 |
| 1-carrier counties | 1 | 14 |
| Plan types | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO | EPO |
Network note: Kansas has no PPO plans in 2026 while Wisconsin 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: Wisconsin 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 | Wisconsin | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $840 | $905 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $840 | $905 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $350–$500 | $255–$475 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $774 a year more in Kansas than in Wisconsin, 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.
You do not have to wait for the next open enrollment. A permanent move between these two opens a 60-day special enrollment period from the day you arrive, which is the window in which you would pick from the 6 carriers writing across Kansas’s 105 counties. Watch the fine print: qualifying coverage for at least one day in the preceding 60 is generally required, and a move for medical care or a vacation does not count.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the Wisconsin policy ends and a Kansas application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
Medica and UnitedHealthcare write on both sides of the line — Wisconsin fields 12 carriers in total, Kansas fields 6. Keeping the same insurer smooths the admin and changes little else, since the network is rebuilt per state.
The plan types do not match up. PPOs cover 15 of 72 counties in Wisconsin and zero of the 105 in Kansas. Since the PPO is the one type that reliably pays out of network, moving into Kansas narrows where you can be seen rather than just changing what you pay.
Only one of the two can be your plan state. Marketplace eligibility runs on primary residence, so if you file from Wisconsin the Kansas care is the out-of-network half, and the reverse if you file from Kansas.
Neither Wisconsin 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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