Ranked 9 of 15 states · median $765/mo · CMS PY2026
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 21 States
A 40-year-old consultant 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 counties covered, Kansas ranks 2 of 15 for this occupation.
Once your work crosses county and state lines, network geography stops being a detail and becomes the whole decision. An HMO contracted in one metro leaves you paying cash 200 miles down the road, and a handful of states filed no PPO at all for 2026. These rankings lead with reach.
Occupational context: Travel fatigue; sedentary and irregular-schedule strain.
Worth being clear about what this does and does not affect: a carrier in Kansas cannot ask what you do for a living, cannot charge a consultant more than a librarian of the same age in the same ZIP, and cannot exclude anything you were already treated for. Occupation only tells you which plan structure to shop for.
Premium is set by rating area, so a consultant 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trego | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Hamilton | $882 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas | $3,400 | 1 |
| Stevens | $882 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas | $3,400 | 1 |
| Jefferson | $565 | Oscar | $6,000 | 4 |
| Wyandotte | $571 | Oscar | $6,000 | 5 |
| Dickinson | $689 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $317/month — $3,808 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $565 to $979. Coverage by County publishes all 105 Kansas counties individually.
| Kansas — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 105 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 14 (13%) |
| Plan types available | EPO |
| PPO available on exchange | No |
| Carriers filing in the state | 6 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $565 — Anderson |
Kansas has no PPO plans on the exchange at all. For a consultant covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 14 of 105 counties here are served by one carrier, so an HMO bought in one metro may leave you out of network for the rest of your route.
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
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether Kansas is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a consultant weighing a relocation for other reasons, the premium difference is a real line item worth putting in the decision.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Travel, home office, software, professional development. 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.
No. Kansas exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a consultant pays exactly what anyone else of the same age in the same ZIP pays. Occupation is not on the application as a rating factor.
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 Consultants in Kansas and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.