National average is $615. Texas is $570…………..That’s even cheaper that cheap can get…
By: Jakob Emerson – November 24th, 2025 – SOURCE: Becker’s
Vermont will have the highest average monthly premiums for the lowest-cost Gold-tier marketplace plan in 2026, while Maryland will have the lowest, according to KFF.
The national average is $615. Premiums were analyzed using the lowest-cost premium for a 40-year-old in each county and weighted by county plan selections.
States ranked by average lowest-cost Gold-tier premiums in 2026:
- Vermont: $1,135
- New York: $1,057
- Wyoming: $1,000
- West Virginia: $961
- Alaska: $912
- Mississippi: $845
- Connecticut: $805
- Maine: $752
- Nebraska: $729
- Delaware: $727
- Alabama: $706
- Utah: $701
- Montana: $701
- New Jersey: $700
- Tennessee: $698
- Kansas: $684
- Louisiana: $676
- Kentucky: $667
- South Dakota: $665
- North Carolina: $662
- District of Columbia: $649
- Arkansas: $647
- Indiana: $646
- Florida: $640
- Wisconsin: $640
- Georgia: $638
- Nevada: $626
- Oklahoma: $617
- Oregon: $603
- Arizona: $602
- South Carolina: $594
- Missouri: $579
- Massachusetts: $575
- California: $572
- Texas: $570
- Michigan: $561
- North Dakota: $549
- Ohio: $548
- Hawaii: $542
- Illinois: $539
- Colorado: $515
- Idaho: $511
- New Mexico: $509
- Rhode Island: $502
- Minnesota: $501
- Pennsylvania: $478
- Washington: $466
- Iowa: $466
- Virginia: $441
- New Hampshire: $434
- Maryland: $404
The national average over millions of covered lives for a Gold Plan is $615. No lifetime maximum, guarantee issue, guarantee renewable, and pre-existing conditions covered immediately. Not only are catastrophic health care expenses covered, but small, routine and predictable medical care services such as office visits and cheap generic drugs representing 95% of all FDA approved drugs are covered too. Add in coverage for pregnancy for everyone regardless of age or gender, throw in sex change surgery, abortion, and hundreds of other federal and state mandates and you have one hell of an “insurance” plan. At $615 it’s about as cheap as cheap can get.
