Ranked 9 of 15 states · median $765/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old massage therapist 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 median Silver premium, Kansas ranks 9 of 15 for this occupation.
When you use coverage regularly, the annual total is driven by what each visit costs and whether the clinician you already see is contracted. A plan $40 cheaper that drops your specialist is not cheaper. These rankings pair median premium with how many carriers actually file in the state.
Occupational context: Chronic hand, wrist, and shoulder overuse injury.
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 massage therapist 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 massage therapist 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leavenworth | $579 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 4 |
| Ellsworth | $689 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 3 |
| Riley | $689 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 3 |
| Elk | $696 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Montgomery | $696 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Coffey | $698 | UnitedHealthcare | $4,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $119/month — $1,423 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 and cost | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Median Silver premium @40 | $765 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $565 — Oscar (Anderson) |
| Most expensive Silver @40 | $979 |
| Carriers filing in the state | 6 — Ambetter from Sunflower, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Medica |
| Plan types available | EPO |
| Counties with only one carrier | 14 of 105 |
Kansas has 6 carriers filing and 14 of 105 counties served by a single issuer. For a massage therapist with an established provider relationship, that carrier count is the number that decides whether you keep your doctor.
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
Read the comparison as context, not as a shopping list. Your county of residence determines what you can buy, and for a massage therapist that is fixed unless you relocate. Where it is actionable is a move already in progress — that is a qualifying life event, and you have 60 days on either side of it.
If you file a Schedule C as a massage therapist, the categories that usually show up are: Table, oils, room rental, licensing, liability insurance. 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.
Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2026.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 1 of the 21 states reported and below it in the other 20, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Massage Therapists (SOC 31-9011) 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 massage therapist. 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 Massage Therapists 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 a massage therapist buying your own cover, who stays matters more than the headline rate.
Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. Kansas has not finalised, so treat exact local 2027 pricing as unavailable rather than unknown.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Kansas included. Conflicting end dates get quoted because a 2025 rule shortened the window and a court vacated it in June 2026, appeal pending — enrol by the 15th and the argument is irrelevant to you.
There is still no PPO on the Kansas marketplace — not in any of its 105 counties. Every plan is an HMO, EPO or POS, which for a massage therapist working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
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:
Two Massage Therapists on opposite sides of Kansas can be quoted very different premiums for the same plan. Your ZIP is what decides it.