Ranked 9 of 15 states · median $765/mo · CMS PY2026
Prefer to talk? Call (713) 575-9904
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 23 States
A 40-year-old plumber 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.
For work with real injury exposure the premium is the wrong headline number. What decides a bad year is the annual out-of-pocket maximum — the ceiling you stop paying at. A fall, a fracture, an imaging series and a course of physical therapy will reach that ceiling on any metal tier, so the states below are ordered by worst-case exposure.
Occupational context: Confined-space entry; sewage and biohazard exposure; back 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 plumber 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 plumber 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Anderson | $565 | Oscar | $6,000 | 4 |
| Osage | $565 | Oscar | $6,000 | 4 |
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 — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $5,900 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $608 — Oscar |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $565 — Oscar |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $790 |
For a plumber, the gap between $5,900 and $10,600 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
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a plumber who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
If you file a Schedule C as a plumber, the categories that usually show up are: Tools, van, licensing, materials, 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.
No. Kansas exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a plumber 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.
Above the cliff. At this income a single-person household receives no premium tax credit for 2026 and pays the full premium.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 8 of the 21 states reported and below it in the other 13, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (SOC 47-2152) 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 plumber. 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 Plumbers in Kansas and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
The Kansas market currently runs to 6 carriers over 105 counties. Carriers re-file every year, and for Plumbers the question that actually decides your renewal is which of them are still there in November.
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.
Mark November 1, 2026 to open and December 15 to act. That second date guarantees cover from January 1 in Kansas regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.
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 a plumber 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:
Two Plumbers on opposite sides of Kansas can be quoted very different premiums for the same plan. Your ZIP is what decides it.