affordable health insurance is available in wisconsin through the state’s marketplace. Finding the best health insurance plan for you can be difficult, so to help you get started, we’ve reviewed all of the silver policies available in the state marketplace.
cghc value 1 silver and dean silver hsa-e 4500x plans were the cheapest silver health plans in most wisconsin counties. however, availability and costs vary by county.
Reading: How much is health insurance in wisconsin
cheapest health insurance by metal level
we compare wisconsin policies by metal level to find the most affordable health insurance policy at each level of coverage in the state market. Although availability depends on the county you live in, the table provides a good starting point for comparing the costs and benefits you can expect from a given metal level.
As you can see above, health plan rates vary widely by metal tier. Although the cheapest options for health insurance plans in Wisconsin offer low rates, availability is limited by location.
In addition to the metal level of a policy, your age is an important factor in determining the cost of a health insurance plan. As age increases, health insurance premiums increase at all metal levels.
For example, the average price difference between a 21-year-old and a 40-year-old ranges from $61 to $112 in Wisconsin, depending on the metal level of the health plan you choose. a 40-year-old would pay $112 more per month than a 21-year-old for a silver plan, but only $61 more on average with a catastrophic plan.
methodology
finding your best health insurance coverage in wisconsin
The best health insurance plan for you in Wisconsin will depend on which county you live in, as even the same policy can have different monthly premiums depending on where you live. For example, the Dean Focus Network Silver HSA-E 4500x plan has a monthly premium of $374 in Dane County, but is $59 more per month in Green County.
Higher metal tier policies generally have more expensive monthly premiums, but also provide lower out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. If you think you may get sick or already have high recurring medical costs like prescriptions, a higher metal level policy may be the best option for you. Alternatively, if you’re young and healthy, a lower metal level can help you save money.
gold and platinum plans: best for expected high medical costs
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Platinum and Gold plans are considered higher metal level health plans. They typically cover most of your out-of-pocket costs, which means lower deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. but these benefits come at the expense of a higher monthly premium.
In general, these health insurance plans are the best value for money if you expect to incur high medical expenses, such as chronic illnesses, or if you have expensive prescriptions. for example, on average, you can expect a gold plan to cover about 80% of your health care expenses, while you pay the other 20%.
silver plans: best for those with low income or average medical costs
Silver policies offer a compromise between higher metal level plans, such as platinum or gold, and lower metal level plans, such as bronze or expanded bronze. For middle- and upper-income households, in terms of monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs, silver plans fall between the top and bottom metal tier plans.
but low-income households may qualify for cost-sharing reduction (csr) subsidies with a silver health plan, further lowering your out-of-pocket costs. typical silver plans cover about 70% of your health care costs, while you pay 30%. but with csr subsidies, you could qualify for a silver plan that covers up to 94% of your health care costs.
bronze and expanded bronze plans: the best for young and healthy people
Bronze plans may offer low monthly rates, but are limited to those under 30 or those who qualify for an exemption. In addition, these plans provide the minimum coverage and are only recommended if you have the financial means to cover a large portion of your health care expenses in the event of an emergency.
for example, the dean focus network bronze value copay 8650x plan has a deductible of $8650, which is $6400 more than the deductible for the mercuriecare hmo gold plan option b.
Bronze plans are open to everyone and similarly offer lower monthly premiums than higher metal tier plans, along with reduced coverage and higher out-of-pocket costs. so if you need medical care during the year, you’ll have to pay more money out of pocket before your coverage kicks in.
On average, you can expect a bronze plan to cover about 60% of your health care costs, while you pay the other 40%. extended bronze plans increase coverage to about 65%, while you pay about 35%.
short term health insurance in wisconsin
Wisconsin residents can purchase short-term health insurance through private health insurance companies, although the state imposes stricter guidelines on this type of plan compared to federal guidelines.
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Initial coverage is limited to one year. Although the plan can be renewed, the total duration of a plan cannot exceed 18 months.
You should consider a short-term health insurance plan if you need temporary coverage or have lost coverage through your employer. These policies do not cover essential health benefits, including maternity care, mental health services, or prescription drugs, which are included in the Affordable Care Act.
the best cheap health insurance companies in wisconsin
With 14 health insurance companies, the Wisconsin health insurance market has one of the largest selections of insurers in the country.
Although there are 14 companies statewide, most counties only have two or three health insurers to choose from, and no health insurance company is available in every county. Whenever possible, we recommend starting your search with Common Ground Health Care Cooperative or Dean’s Health Plan, as they generally offer the cheapest silver plans in a given county.
cheapest health insurance plan by county
Because the county you live in determines the availability of health insurers, the policies available, and their rates, it can be difficult to find the best health plan for you. To simplify this process, in the following table we compare the monthly rates of each policy in Wisconsin to find the cheapest silver health plan in each county.
average cost of health insurance by family size in wisconsin
Metal level and age play a big role in determining the cost of individual monthly premiums, but in addition to this, family size will affect your health insurance rates. In Wisconsin, the average cost of health insurance for a family of three, assuming two parents in their 40s and one child, is $1,337 per month.
For each additional child, the average cost of a silver health plan increases by about $308, so a family of four, assuming two parents and two children, would pay an average of $1,645 per month for health coverage . keep in mind that the cost of insuring children up to age 14 remains fixed, but once they turn 15, the monthly premium will increase as they get older.
changes in health insurance rates in wisconsin
Policy premiums are set by individual health companies. then, once the rates have been determined by an insurer, they are submitted to the federal health insurance exchange for approval.
in wisconsin, the average cost of a health plan at all levels is 3% cheaper in 2022 than in 2021. the average rate for all policy types decreased from 2021 to 2022, except for extended bronze plans.
methodology
Health insurance premiums and plan information used in this analysis were obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website. ValuePenguin determined average rates by metal tier, family size, and region based on cost data from the CMS Public Use Files (POF). Our analysis used plans and providers for which county-level data was included in the CMS match file; those excluded from this dataset may not appear.
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