You can still get a nationwide PPO in Kansas, even though the marketplace sells only EPOs. Here is how 1099 workers plan around a lean year in a state where most adults without kids have no Medicaid route at all.
Hi, I'm Sam. From Tampa, under licenses in 36 states, I help self-employed people buy their own coverage. Kansans who work on a 1099, whether that's roofing in Olathe, custom harvesting out of Salina or freelance design in Lawrence, can set up coverage with me by phone.
The situation this page covers is the lean year, because in Kansas it carries more risk than almost anywhere. Kansas never expanded Medicaid, and KFF lists the income limit for adults without children at 0% of the poverty level. In plain terms, a single contractor or a couple without kids has no Medicaid route at any income.
Kansas's marketplace sells 64 individual medical plans for this year, every one an EPO. You won't find a PPO on HealthCare.gov in Kansas.
You can still get a nationwide PPO in Kansas, through me. Once work is steady and you're healthy, it's a private plan priced on your health with providers across the country, useful when jobs take you into Missouri, Oklahoma or Nebraska.
Three numbers define it:
A childless contractor whose income for the year falls under the poverty line can qualify for neither Medicaid nor the credit. A parent below 38% may have a Medicaid route; a parent between 38% and 100% may have none.
HealthCare.gov wants your net self-employment income for the coverage year, updated as soon as it changes. Net means 1099 receipts minus fuel, tools, equipment, materials, insurance and the other real costs of the work.
In a lean year, the difference between landing just under the poverty line and just over it is enormous in Kansas, because one side has the credit and the other may have nothing. That's a reason to estimate carefully, not a reason to guess high. Count the contracts you've signed, the work that reliably returns in your busy season, and any income from others in the household.
Your realistic estimate decides whether the credit is available. If it lands at or above the poverty line, a marketplace EPO with the credit is usually your most affordable route; check that your doctors are in its network. If it lands below, talk to me before enrolling so you understand what's left.
Next step: List the jobs you've finished and the ones on the books, and I'll help you land on a defensible number for the year.
Parents in Kansas have a narrow Medicaid route, up to 38% of the poverty level per KFF. Above that and below the poverty line is the hard band. Above the poverty line, the credit generally applies.
Next step: Describe the household and how the year is shaping up, and I'll sort out whether KanCare, the marketplace or neither applies.
Many Kansas trades are seasonal. Harvest crews, roofers after a hail season, and landscapers can earn most of the year's income in a few months. If that's your pattern, base the estimate on what the full year usually looks like, not on a slow February. A year that seems tiny in winter can land comfortably above the poverty line by fall, and that changes which program applies. If the good months never arrive, update the estimate then rather than waiting for tax season.
Once you're past the credit range, a full-price EPO is often a poor buy. A nationwide PPO, where the insurer reviews your health and approves, declines, or approves with a condition left out, is usually worth a look.
Next step: When the season picks up, call me and I'll quote a nationwide PPO against your county's EPOs.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Kansas hasn't expanded Medicaid. KFF lists the limit at 0% of the poverty level for adults without children and 38% for parents.
Yes. Below the poverty line the marketplace credit generally isn't available, and Kansas Medicaid has no income route for adults without children, so both doors can be closed.
No. All 64 individual medical plans are EPOs. Healthy contractors can get a nationwide PPO through me.
No. HealthCare.gov wants net self-employment income for the year, meaning receipts minus business costs, and it wants an update whenever that picture shifts.
Tell me your county, who lives with you and your realistic estimate of this year's 1099 net. I'll show you what you can actually get before you enroll.
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