Ranked 9 of 15 states · median $765/mo · CMS PY2026
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 21 States
A 40-year-old carpenter in Kansas pays a median $765/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 9th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $565 from Oscar in Anderson. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, Kansas ranks 5 of 15 for this occupation.
Trade work concentrates cost into rare, expensive events rather than spreading it across the year. That inverts the usual shopping logic: a lower premium with a $9,200 ceiling is a worse deal than a higher premium with a $6,000 one, because the ceiling is what you actually hit. These rankings follow the ceiling.
Occupational context: Saw and nail-gun injuries; hearing loss; back strain from lifting.
None of that changes your price. ACA plans in Kansas are community rated — premium varies by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size only. Your occupation cannot be used to rate you, decline you, or exclude a condition. What it changes is which plan design is the right bet.
Premium is set by rating area, so a carpenter in one Kansas county can pay materially more than one an hour away. Six counties from across the state, cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old:
| County | Cheapest Silver @40 | Issuer | Deductible | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiowa | $739 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Ellis | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Norton | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Scott | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Clark | $882 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas | $3,400 | 1 |
| Kearny | $882 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas | $3,400 | 1 |
The spread across just these six is $143/month — $1,715 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $565 to $979. Coverage by County publishes all 105 Kansas counties individually.
| Kansas — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $0 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $0 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $608 — Oscar |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $565 — Oscar |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $790 |
For a carpenter, the gap between $0 and $0 in annual out-of-pocket maximum is worth more than any premium difference on this page. One serious injury reaches that ceiling regardless of which plan you picked.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 3,058 plan records across 105 Kansas counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Michigan ($708), South Dakota ($725), Oklahoma ($731). More expensive: Florida ($789), Utah ($805), Texas ($807).
Side-by-side: Kansas vs South Dakota · Kansas vs Oklahoma · Kansas vs Florida · Kansas vs Utah
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A carpenter living in Kansas and working across a state line still buys Kansas plans. A genuine permanent move does trigger a special enrollment period, but the plan year restarts with a fresh deductible.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Tools, truck, lumber, jobsite travel, liability insurance. Note the ordering problem with health premiums: the §162(l) deduction lowers your AGI, and your AGI is what sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other. That is a CPA conversation and worth having before you enroll, not after.
If your household income is above the subsidy range, ACA is not automatically the answer. There are other categories of coverage that may fit, and they work very differently. That is a conversation, not a web page.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in Kansas is $565 per month from Oscar, with a state median of $765. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in Kansas uses four inputs only: age, ZIP code, tobacco use and how many people are on the policy. Trade, injury history and pre-existing conditions are all excluded from pricing by law.
No. Only EPO plans were filed for 2026.
Kansas ranks 9 of 15 states covered here, at a median $765 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
This page compares states. For Kansas specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Carpenters in Kansas and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.