Kentucky health insurance Marketplace guide

To qualify for health coverage through the Kentucky Marketplace, you must:⁵

• Live in Kentucky
• Be lawfully present in the United States
• Not be incarcerated
• Not be enrolled in Medicare

Eligibility for financial assistance (premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions) depends on your income and how it compares with the cost of the second-lowest-cost Silver plan in your area – which depends on your age and location. In addition, to qualify for financial assistance with your Marketplace plan you must:

• Not have access to affordable health coverage through your employer. If your employer offers coverage but you feel it’s too expensive, you can use our Employer Health Plan Affordability Calculator to see if you might qualify for premium subsidies in the Marketplace. 
• Not be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
• Not be eligible for premium-free Medicare Part A.⁶
• File a joint tax return, if you’re married.⁷ (with very limited exceptions)⁸
• Not be able to be claimed by someone else as a tax dependent.⁷

In Kentucky, the open enrollment period for 2026 individual and family health insurance ended on January 15, 2026.⁹ 

Since open enrollment has ended, enrollments or plan changes with 2026 effective dates require a special enrollment period.

The next open enrollment period, for coverage effective in 2027, will be shorter, and all plans selected during open enrollment will take effect January 1. Since Kynect is a state-run exchange, Kentucky will have the option to end open enrollment on December 15 (the deadline that HealthCare.gov will use), or to extend it as late as December 31. But enrollment will no longer continue into January.

If you have questions about open enrollment, you can learn more in our comprehensive guide to open enrollment. We also have a comprehensive guide to special enrollment periods.

To enroll in an ACA Marketplace plan in Kentucky, you can: 

• Visit Kynect to access Kentucky’s state-based health insurance Marketplace. Here you will find an online platform to shop, compare, and choose the best health plans.
• Purchase individual and family health coverage with the help of an insurance agent or broker, or a kynector (Kynect-certified enrollment assister).¹⁰

You may find affordable health insurance options in Kentucky through its state-based health insurance exchange. Kentucky residents use Kynect (not HealthCare.gov) to shop, review, and enroll in health coverage as well as to determine any available subsidies. 

Of the more than 97,000 people who enrolled in coverage through Kynect during the open enrollment period for 2025 coverage, more than 83,000 — about 86% — qualified for premium subsidies (premium tax credits). These subsidies averaged $489/month. The subsidies resulted in an average net premium of $180/month (including the enrollees who paid full price).³

But because Congress did not extend the premium subsidy enhancements that expired at the end of 2025, after-subsidy premiums increased significantly in 2026. Subsidies no longer cover as much of enrollees’ total premiums as they did in 2025, and households with income above 400% of the federal poverty level are now ineligible for subsidies.

Source: CMS.gov¹¹

People with household incomes of no more than 250% of the federal poverty level also qualify for cost-sharing reductions (CSR). CSR benefits reduce deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses, as long as the enrollee selects a Silver plan.¹² Of the more than 97,000 Kentucky residents who enrolled during the open enrollment period for 2025 coverage, 48% enrolled in plans with built-in CSR benefits.³

Between the premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions, you may find that an ACA plan is the most affordable (and most robust) health insurance option for you.

Three insurers offer individual and family health plans through Kynect for 2026:¹³

• Anthem (two different networks available: Pathway and Transition)
• Ambetter/WellCare
• Molina

The carriers have varying coverage areas, so different plans are available in different areas of the state.¹⁴

There were four participating insurers offering medical coverage for 2025, but CareSource stopped offering Marketplace plans in Kentucky at the end of 2025.¹⁵

The following average rate changes were approved for 2026 for Kentucky’s individual market insurers:¹⁶ (Average rate changes are calculated before subsidies are applied.)

Source: RateReview.HealthCare.gov¹⁶

The weighted average rate increase was 29.8%, but again, that’s before any subsidies are applied. Because Congress did not extend the subsidy enhancements, after-subsidy premium increases were a much higher percentage.¹⁷

For perspective, here’s a summary of how average pre-subsidy premiums have changed in Kentucky’s individual/family market over the years:

• 2015: Average increase of 7%.¹⁸
• 2016: Average increase of 14%.¹⁹
• 2017: Average increase of 24.5%.²⁰
• 2018: Average increase of 45%.²¹
• 2019: Average increase of 12.5%.²²
• 2020: Average increase of 3.7%.²³
• 2021: Average increase of 5%.²⁴
• 2022: Average decrease of 3.8%.²⁵
• 2023: Average increase of 6.25%.²⁶
• 2024: Average increase of 3.5% (unweighted)²⁷
• 2025: Average increase of 7.9%.²⁸

About 89,000 Kentucky residents selected plans through Kynect during the open enrollment period for 2026 coverage,²⁹ down from 97,374 the year before.³

Source: 2014,³⁰ 2015,³¹ 2016,³² 2017,³³ 2018,³⁴ 2019,³⁵ 2020,³⁶ 2021,³⁷ 2022,³⁸ 2023,³⁹ 2024,⁴⁰ 2025⁴¹

2025 enrollment had been the highest Marketplace enrollment in Kentucky since 2015.

Most states experienced record-high Marketplace enrollment in 2023, 2024, and again in 2025 — due in large part to the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which expanded enrollee access to ACA’s premium subsidies.⁴²

Kentucky did not follow that trend, but enrollment in 2025 did surpass all previous years except 2015 (see chart above for prior year enrollment data). And as was the case in nearly all states, enrollment in Kentucky’s Marketplace declined in 2026, due to the expiration of the federal subsidy enhancements.

Enrollment in Kentucky’s Marketplace declined for several years, from 2019 through 2023. Although it did grow in 2024, the enrollment total was still well below the record high set in 2015, before Kentucky transitioned to the HealthCare.gov platform for a few years.

Kynect – Kentucky’s Healthcare Connection
855-4kynect (855-459-6328)

Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange
Administrative site for Kentucky’s Marketplace

Foundation for a Healthier Kentucky

Kentucky Health Insurance Advocate, Kentucky Department of Insurance
Assists people insured by private health plans, Medicaid, or other plans in resolving problems pertaining to their health coverage; assists uninsured residents with access to care.
(877) 587-7222 /[email protected]