Ranked 9 of 15 states · median $765/mo · CMS PY2026
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 21 States
A 40-year-old tattoo artist 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: Bloodborne pathogen exposure; chronic hand and 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 tattoo artist 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 tattoo artist 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Ness | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Russell | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Wichita | $746 | Ambetter from Sunflower | $6,000 | 2 |
| Haskell | $882 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas | $3,400 | 1 |
| Wallace | $942 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas | $3,400 | 1 |
The spread across just these six is $196/month — $2,353 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 | $0 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $0 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $608 — Oscar |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $565 — Oscar |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $790 |
For a tattoo artist, the gap between $0 and $0 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
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A tattoo artist 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.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Machines, inks, booth rental, licensing, autoclave. Premiums are generally deductible above the line under IRC §162(l) when no employer plan is available to you or your spouse — a question for your CPA, not your agent.
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. Under the ACA, carriers cannot rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Rates vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size.
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 Tattoo Artists in Kansas and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.