Best Cheap Health Insurance in Missouri (2024)
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City has the best medical insurance in Missouri. Plans cost $609 per month before discounts.
Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in Missouri
Best and cheapest health insurance in Missouri
Cheapest health insurance companies in Missouri
Anthem has the cheapest health insurance in Missouri, at $430 per month on average before discounts.
Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in Missouri
Affordable health plans in MO
Company |
Cost
| |
|---|---|---|
| Anthem (BCBS) | $430 - $760 |
| Ambetter | $440 - $669 |
| Oscar | $466 - $552 |
| UnitedHealthcare | $467 - $584 |
- Ambetter has the cheapest rates in two-thirds of Missouri's counties. However, the company is the most affordable choice for only about one-third of the people in Missouri.
- Anthem has the most affordable health insurance for more than one-third of the people in Missouri including those in St. Louis.
- Oscar has the cheapest coverage for about a fifth of people in Missouri including people living in large cities like Kansas City, Independence and Lee's Summit.
Best health insurance companies in Missouri
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Kansas City has the best health insurance for most people in Missouri.
BCBS of Kansas City has a high four out of five star rating from HealthCare.gov. That means the company scores well on customer satisfaction, plan management and quality of care.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City customers also have access to the largest network of doctors nationwide. That makes it a good choice if you want more choice when it comes to choosing the doctors in your area or travel often.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City charges higher-than-average rates. If you want access to Blue Cross Blue Shield's wide network of doctors and you care about cost more than quality, consider Anthem.
Anthem is an alternative if you want a Blue Cross Blue Shield company. However, Anthem has an average star rating and some of the cheapest rates among Missouri health insurance companies.
Best-rated health insurance companies in Missouri
Company |
Editor rating
|
ACA rating
|
|---|---|---|
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City | 4.0 | |
| Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | 3.0 | |
| Ambetter from Home State Health | 3.0 | |
| Aetna CVS Health | NA | |
| UnitedHealthcare | NA |
Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in Missouri
UnitedHealthcare (UHC) also offers high-quality health plans. The company gets fewer complaints than an average company its size. However, UnitedHealthcare is too new to the Missouri health marketplace to have a star rating from HealthCare.gov.
How much does health insurance cost in Missouri?
Missouri residents pay $61 per month for health insurance after discounts, on average. Health insurance in Missouri costs $594 per month without discounts.
Roughly half of all Missourians with marketplace plans pay less than $10 per month for coverage. The size of your discount depends on your household size and income.
Gold plans have expensive rates and affordable costs when you visit the doctor. Bronze plans have cheap monthly costs, but you pay more when you get medical care.
Silver plans offer a middle ground between the two with average rates and middle-of-the-road costs when you go to the doctor. That makes Silver health plans a good choice for most people.
Get affordable health insurance in Missouri
Health insurance in Missouri costs an average of $61 per month after discounts.
To qualify for subsidies, you need to earn between about $15,000 and $60,000 per year as a single person or $31,000 to $125,000 for a family of four. If you don't earn enough to qualify for subsidies, you're probably eligible for free government health insurance, called .
Cheap health insurance in Missouri by city
Oscar has the most affordable medical insurance in Kansas City, at $479 per month before discounts.
However, the company has a reputation for poor customer service.
Anthem has the cheapest health insurance in St. Louis and Cox offers the best rates in Springfield, Missouri.
Cheapest health insurance by MO county
County | Cheapest plan | Monthly rates |
|---|---|---|
| Adair | Ambetter Standard Silver | $614 |
| Andrew | Ambetter Standard Silver | $625 |
| Atchison | Ambetter Standard Silver | $625 |
| Audrain | Ambetter Standard Silver | $625 |
| Barry | Cox Silver Standard | $503 |
Cheapest Silver plan with rates for a 40-year-old
Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in Missouri
Ambetter has the cheapest health insurance in most of rural Missouri. The company offers the lowest rates in two-thirds of the counties in Missouri. However, these counties only have one-third of the state's population.
Best health insurance by level of coverage
When choosing your level of health coverage, it's important to consider how healthy you are, your finances and discounts you may qualify for.
Gold plans: Best if you have ongoing medical needs
| Gold plans pay for about 80% of your medical care. |
Consider a Gold plan if you have expensive or ongoing medical needs. Gold plans have high monthly rates, but you'll pay a small portion of the bill when you go to the hospital.
That means Gold plans usually only make sense for people who need high-cost treatment. For example, a Gold plan might be a good choice if you have cancer or arthritis.
Silver plans: Best for most people
| Silver plans pay for about 70% of your medical care. |
Silver plans have middle-of-the-road rates and costs when you visit the doctor or get a prescription filled. Silver plans are the best choice for most people because they offer a balance between your monthly costs and what you pay when you go to the hospital.
Bronze plans: Best if you're young and healthy
| Bronze plans pay for about 60% of your medical care. |
Bronze plans have cheap monthly rates, but you're responsible for a large portion of your bill when you go to the hospital. That makes Bronze plans are a good choice for people who rarely visit the doctor.
Keep in mind that you may have to pay thousands of dollars before coverage starts if you get seriously injured or sick with a Bronze plan. You should only buy a Bronze plan if you have enough money in your savings account to cover your health insurance deductible.
Catastrophic plans: Best to prevent financial disaster
You'll pay $9,450 before coverage starts with a catastrophic plan.
Catastrophic plans are a good choice for preventing financial disaster because you won't pay more than $9,450 in a single year for medical services. In other words, your deductible is the maximum amount you'll pay for care with catastrophic coverage.
Catastrophic plans have the lowest average rates of any plan tier. However, they're not usually a good deal because catastrophic plans offer limited coverage. You have to pay a high deductible before your plan will cover most services.
In addition, catastrophic plans aren't eligible for subsidies. That means you can get better coverage for a cheaper price if you earn a low income.
You can only buy a catastrophic plan if you're under the age of 30 or you have a special hardship exemption.
Discounted and free health insurance in Missouri
You may have access to free or discounted health insurance in Missouri, depending on your income.
Medicaid: Best if you earn a low income
You may qualify for free government health insurance, called Medicaid, if you earn about $20,000 per year or less as a single person or $41,000 per year or less for a family of four.
A pregnant woman with no children and a parent with a child under the age of one are eligible for Medicaid if they make under about $30,000 per year.
Discounted Silver plans: Best if you earn a low income but don't qualify for Medicaid
| Silver plans will pay 73% to 94% of your medical costs if you have a low income. |
You may qualify for extra discounts, called cost-sharing reductions, if you have a Silver health plan and you earn a low income. Cost-sharing reductions cover part of the costs you're responsible for when you visit the hospital, such as your deductible, copays and coinsurance.
Missouri residents are eligible for cost-sharing reductions if they make less than $36,000 per year as an individual or $75,000 per year as a family of four.
Are health insurance rates going up in MO?
Health insurance rates went down by 11% on average between 2023 and 2024.
Health insurance in Missouri got cheaper across all plan tiers from 2023 to 2024. Gold plans fell the most, at 15%. In contrast, Silver plans had the smallest decrease: 5%.
Tier | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catastrophic | $396 | $348 | -12% |
| Bronze | $553 | $495 | -11% |
| Silver | $626 | $594 | -5% |
| Gold | $761 | $645 | -15% |
Monthly costs are for a 40-year-old.
Marketplace insurance in Missouri
You can buy a marketplace plan plan in Missouri by going to HealthCare.gov. Marketplace plans have more protections than other types of health insurance, such as or supplemental coverage.
For example, companies selling Obamacare plans can't deny coverage or charge higher rates based on your health. In addition, all marketplace plans have to cover 10 essential services.
Benefits offered by all marketplace health plans in Missouri
- Outpatient care
- Emergency care
- Prescription drugs
- Care for pregnant women and newborns
- Preventive, wellness and ongoing disease services
- Hospital care
- Coverage for babies
- Laboratory services
- Rehabilitation services and devices
- Services for mental health and substance use disorders
Plans bought on the Missouri health exchange limit the total amount you'll pay for health care in a single year, called an out-of-pocket maximum. Once you hit your out-of-pocket max, you won't pay anything else for care until the start of the next year.
Average cost of health insurance by family size in MO
In Missouri, a family of four will pay $1,899 per month before discounts for health insurance on average. On average, health insurance for an adult in Missouri costs $594 per month and coverage for a child under the age of 19 costs $356 per month.
Family size | Average monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Individual | $594 |
| Individual + Child | $950 |
| Couple, age 40 | $1,188 |
| Family of three | $1,544 |
| Family of four | $1,899 |
Averages based on a Silver plan for 40-year-old adults and children.
Short-term health insurance in Missouri
Short-term health plans let you get coverage at any time of the year. In other words, you don't have to wait until open enrollment or qualify for a special enrollment period to get coverage.
However, while short-term health plans are convenient, they typically offer worse coverage than regular health plans.
Short-term plans sold after August 31, 2024 can only last for three months at a time or for four total months in a year including renewals. That means if you bought a short-term plan for three months and renewed it for another month, you'd have to wait eight months until you could buy more short-term coverage.
Plans bought before September 1, 2024 can last up to 12 months and you can renew them for up to three years total.
Pros of short-term health insurance in MO
Cons of short-term health insurance in MO
Frequently asked questions
What's the best health insurance in Missouri?
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Kansas City has the best health insurance in Missouri. The company has a high 4 out of 5 star rating from HealthCare.gov. That means most BCBS customers in Missouri are happy with their coverage.
Who has the cheapest health insurance in Missouri?
Anthem has the cheapest health plans in Missouri. The company offers roughly average customer service making it a good choice for people who prioritize cost over quality.
What is the average cost of health insurance per month in Missouri?
Health insurance in Missouri costs $61 per month on average after discounts. If you don't qualify for discounts, also called subsidies or premium tax credits, health coverage costs $594 per month on average.
Methodology
Missouri health insurance rate data for 2024 is from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website. ValuePenguin used data from the CMS public use files (PUFs). Plans and insurance companies not included in the CMS Crosswalk files were not used in our analysis.
Rates are based on a 40-year-old with a Silver plan, unless otherwise noted. Other sources include S&P Global Capital IQ and the Missouri Department of Social Services.
Editorial note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.