Ranked 9 of 15 states · median $765/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old engineer 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.
Coverage that only works where you sleep is not coverage if you spend the week elsewhere. The binding question is whether the plan pays out of area at all, and beyond emergencies many HMOs simply do not. States below are ordered by network reach, with the no-PPO states flagged.
Occupational context: Sedentary strain; site-visit exposure depending on discipline.
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 engineer 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 engineer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwards | $739 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Cheyenne | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Logan | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Rush | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Trego | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Hamilton | $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 — 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 engineer 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
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A engineer 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.
If you file a Schedule C as a engineer, the categories that usually show up are: PE licensing, software, professional dues, site travel. The health premium itself is normally an above-the-line deduction under IRC §162(l), which reduces AGI rather than requiring you to itemize. Your CPA should confirm it against your actual situation.
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.
Above the cliff. At this income a single-person household receives no premium tax credit for 2026 and pays the full premium.
This occupation is above the cliff in all 21 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Industrial Engineers (SOC 17-2112) in Kansas. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed engineer. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.
Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2026 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $62,600 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.
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 Engineers in Kansas and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Kansas has 6 carriers filing across 105 counties right now. That list is rebuilt every year, so what you can choose from in November may not match what you see today — and for an engineer buying your own cover, who stays matters more than the headline rate.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Kansas premium yet. Filings nationally cluster around a 15% median increase, with the full spread running −1% to 54% — and until this state signs off, a specific local number is invention.
The window opens November 1, 2026, and December 15 is the date worth writing down — it is what secures January 1 cover in Kansas and everywhere else. You will find later dates quoted; they stem from a 2025 rule that was vacated in June 2026 and is under appeal.
One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Kansas. All 105 counties offer HMO, EPO or POS only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as an engineer crosses county lines, weigh that above the premium.
Because Kansas sells no PPO in any of its 105 counties, the thing that will decide your 2027 experience is which network your providers sit in — and that is far easier to check now than during the rush.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Most Engineers here are buying their own coverage without an employer. One ZIP is all I need to show you what is available in your part of Kansas.