Ranked 9 of 17 states · median $765/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old speech therapist in Kansas pays a median $765/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 9th of 17 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $565 from Oscar in Anderson. On median Silver premium, Kansas ranks 9 of 17 for this occupation.
Patient-facing and on-your-feet work produces steady, predictable claims — routine visits, refills, physical therapy, the occasional urgent care. That profile is decided by copay design and by whether your providers are in network, not by the sticker premium, so carrier count sits alongside cost below.
Occupational context: Vocal strain; infectious exposure in clinical settings.
This is background for choosing a plan, not for pricing one. Since 2014 every Kansas exchange plan has been guaranteed issue and community rated: same age, same ZIP, same tobacco status means the same filed premium whether you are a speech therapist or an accountant. Occupation changes the shopping criteria, nothing else.
Premium is set by rating area, so a speech 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Stevens | $882 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas | $3,400 | 1 |
| Jefferson | $565 | Oscar | $6,000 | 4 |
| Wyandotte | $571 | Oscar | $6,000 | 5 |
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 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 speech 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: Tennessee ($773), Mississippi ($773), Florida ($789).
Side-by-side: Kansas vs South Dakota · Kansas vs Oklahoma · Kansas vs Tennessee · Kansas vs Mississippi
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a speech therapist who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Licensing, materials, malpractice insurance, CE. 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 BLS median wage for Speech-Language Pathologists in Kansas is $81,360 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $55,440. The middle half earn $66,190 to $100,580, and the top 10% more than $114,080. BLS counts about 1,790 people doing this work for an employer in Kansas. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.
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 speech therapist 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 17 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 2027 and pays the full premium.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 22 of the 23 states reported and below it in the other 1, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Speech-Language Pathologists (SOC 29-1127) 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 speech 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 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 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 Speech Therapists 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 Speech Therapists the question that actually decides your renewal is which of them are still there in November.
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.
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 speech therapist 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.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
There is no single Kansas price. Enter your ZIP and a licensed agent will pull what is filed in your county, then work out what help you qualify for.
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