Health insurance in Kansas
Kansas did not expand Medicaid, so adults below $15,960 can fall through the gap entirely. 10.1% of under-65 residents are uninsured.
Source: CMS Marketplace Open Enrollment Public Use Files and US Census Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, 2026 release. Figures cover the under-65 population.
Where you enroll
Kansas uses the federally facilitated marketplace, so you enroll at HealthCare.gov on the federal calendar — the dates are here.
Kansas has a coverage gap
Kansas has not adopted the Medicaid expansion. That creates a specific and badly-known problem: the premium tax credit was written on the assumption that everyone below 100% of the poverty guideline would be covered by an expanded Medicaid, so the credit does not start until 100%. In a state that did not expand, an adult below that line qualifies for neither.
In practice that means an adult in Kansas earning under $15,960 a year — roughly $1,330 a month — may be offered no help at all, while someone earning slightly more gets a substantial subsidy. It is the one part of this system where earning less can leave you worse off.
Kansas's uninsured rate is 10.1% of under-65 residents, or 240,795 people. Some of them are in this gap.
If your income is near the line, it is worth getting the number right before you assume you do not qualify. Projected annual income is what counts, not last month's pay.
How much choice Kansas counties get
Counties in Kansas carry between 1 and 5 insurers, so competition is fairly even across the state without being uniform.
12 counties in Kansas have just one insurer selling on the exchange. In those, comparison shopping is not really available and the benchmark plan is whatever the single company filed. No county in Kansas changed its number of insurers since the previous plan year.
How many Kansas residents buy on the marketplace
192,254 Kansas residents selected a marketplace plan for 2026. Against the state's under-65 population that is 81 per thousand, close to the 26-state median of 79, and 12th highest of the 26 states on this site.
Of those, 26,302 — 14% — were new rather than renewing, which is a fairly typical mix of new and renewing enrollees (15th of 26).
The spread inside Kansas
Johnson County is the largest county we publish here, with 532,660 under-65 residents; Douglas County is the smallest, with 97,595. Johnson County has 5 insurers offering 55 plans, and Douglas County has 4 offering 46.
The widest choice in Kansas is in Johnson County — 5 insurers, 55 plans. The narrowest is Sedgwick County, with 2 insurers and 25 plans. Same state, same rules, 30 more plans to choose from.
Uninsured rates range from 6.3% in Johnson County to 16.0% in Wyandotte County — 2.5 times as high, within one state.
The 5 largest counties in Kansas
By under-65 population, covering 57% of the state's under-65 residents. Kansas has 100 counties with complete federal data; we publish pages for the largest.
| County | Under 65 | Uninsured | Insurers | Plans | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson County | 532,660 | 6.3% | 5 | 55 | 79 |
| Sedgwick County | 441,332 | 12.1% | 2 | 25 | 92 |
| Wyandotte County | 142,064 | 16.0% | 5 | 55 | 107 |
| Shawnee County | 139,491 | 9.3% | 4 | 46 | 75 |
| Douglas County | 97,595 | 9.3% | 4 | 46 | 71 |
Source: CMS Marketplace Open Enrollment Public Use Files and US Census Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, 2026 release. "Per 1,000" is marketplace plan selections per thousand under-65 residents.
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