Les Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before cove.
Les Masterson Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before cove.
Written By Les Masterson Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before cove.
Les Masterson Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before cove.
Deputy Editor, Insurance Michelle Megna Lead Editor, InsuranceMichelle is a lead editor at Forbes Advisor. She has been a journalist for over 35 years, writing about insurance for consumers for the last decade. Prior to covering insurance, Michelle was a lifestyle reporter at the New York Daily News, a magazine.
Michelle Megna Lead Editor, InsuranceMichelle is a lead editor at Forbes Advisor. She has been a journalist for over 35 years, writing about insurance for consumers for the last decade. Prior to covering insurance, Michelle was a lifestyle reporter at the New York Daily News, a magazine.
Michelle Megna Lead Editor, InsuranceMichelle is a lead editor at Forbes Advisor. She has been a journalist for over 35 years, writing about insurance for consumers for the last decade. Prior to covering insurance, Michelle was a lifestyle reporter at the New York Daily News, a magazine.
Michelle Megna Lead Editor, InsuranceMichelle is a lead editor at Forbes Advisor. She has been a journalist for over 35 years, writing about insurance for consumers for the last decade. Prior to covering insurance, Michelle was a lifestyle reporter at the New York Daily News, a magazine.
| Lead Editor, Insurance
Updated: Jul 22, 2024, 2:33pm
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
Getty Creative
Health insurance costs $5,040 a year for a bronze Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plan for a 40-year-old, based on our analysis.
The cost of health insurance in the ACA marketplace at HealthCare.gov varies by insurance company, where you live, which plan and metal tier you choose, how many people are covered, your age, whether you smoke and your household family size and income. The ACA marketplace lets you compare health plans that are sold in the marketplace.
The average monthly premium for a bronze ACA health insurance plan is $420 for a 40-year-old. The average monthly cost for that same person increases to $549 for a silver plan and $713 for a gold plan. Those averages don’t consider premium tax credits and subsidies that can reduce costs for an ACA plan based on household income.
Though age isn’t considered when setting rates for employer-sponsored health insurance, insurers in the ACA marketplace use age when setting health plan premiums.
Source: Healthcare.gov. Based on unsubsidized ACA plans.See More See Less
It’s wise to compare quotes from multiple health insurance companies to find the best affordable health insurance for you.
ACA plans base rates on multiple factors, including your age, smoking status, type of plan and metal tier. Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare are three insurers to check out in the ACA marketplace at HealthCare.gov if you want to pay less for coverage.
Source: Healthcare.gov. Based on unsubsidized ACA plans.See More See Less
A health plan’s benefit design influences your costs. Health maintenance organization (HMO) and exclusive provider organization (EPO) plans are usually cheaper than a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan.
Source: Healthcare.gov. Based on unsubsidized ACA plans.See More See Less
A plan’s metal tier affects how much you pay in premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Bronze, silver, gold and platinum plans are distinguished from one another based on how much you pay on premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
Source: Healthcare.gov. Based on unsubsidized ACA plans. Note: Platinum plans aren’t usually offered and we don’t have enough cost data on those types of plans to offer an accurate picture of costs.
See More See Less
The number of people on a health plan influences how much you pay. Adding an adult to a plan typically increases your health insurance costs compared to adding a child.
40-year-old, single coverage 40-year-old, single coverage plus child 40-year-old, couple coverage 40-year-old, couple coverage plus one child 40-year-old, couple coverage plus two children Source: Healthcare.gov. Based on unsubsidized ACA plans.See More See Less
The ACA lets health insurance companies use multiple factors when setting premiums on the health insurance marketplace.
ACA marketplace insurance companies use a person’s age when setting Obamacare costs , which is different from the employer-sponsored health insurance market.
The ACA lets insurance companies set higher rates for smokers in the marketplace. A health insurance company can charge a smoker as much as 50% more than a nonsmoker.
Metal tiers on the ACA marketplace help consumers choose plans based on costs. The metal tiers are bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The metal tier you choose depends on whether you want to pay higher premiums or higher deductibles.
Single coverage costs less than if you have multiple people on your health plan. Adding a spouse to your plan may double costs, and having a child or two on coverage will likely increase it even more.
A health plan’s benefit design affects costs and how you get care. You need to decide whether flexibility or lower premiums are more important to you when you’re comparing health plans.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace offers premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies based on your household income. That can lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs. People with household income at 400% of the federal poverty level or below are eligible for premium tax credits.
Was this article helpful?
Share your feedback Send feedback to the editorial team Thank You for your feedback! Something went wrong. Please try again later. Buying Guides
By Meera Pal
By Elizabeth Rivelli
By Elizabeth Rivelli
By Forbes Advisor Brand Group
By Forbes Advisor Brand Group
By Les Masterson
Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners.
Deputy Editor, InsuranceLes Masterson is a deputy editor and insurance analyst at Forbes Advisor. He has been a journalist, reporter, editor and content creator for more than 25 years. He has covered insurance for a decade, including auto, home, life and health. Before covering insurance, Les was a news editor and reporter for Patch and Community Newspaper Company and also covered health care, mortgages, credit cards and personal loans for multiple websites.
© 2024 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Are you sure you want to rest your choices?The Forbes Advisor editorial team is independent and objective. To help support our reporting work, and to continue our ability to provide this content for free to our readers, we receive compensation from the companies that advertise on the Forbes Advisor site. This compensation comes from two main sources. First, we provide paid placements to advertisers to present their offers. The compensation we receive for those placements affects how and where advertisers’ offers appear on the site. This site does not include all companies or products available within the market. Second, we also include links to advertisers’ offers in some of our articles; these “affiliate links” may generate income for our site when you click on them. The compensation we receive from advertisers does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides in our articles or otherwise impact any of the editorial content on Forbes Advisor. While we work hard to provide accurate and up to date information that we think you will find relevant, Forbes Advisor does not and cannot guarantee that any information provided is complete and makes no representations or warranties in connection thereto, nor to the accuracy or applicability thereof. Here is a list of our partners who offer products that we have affiliate links for.
