Kansas contractors and builders

Here's how general contractors and builders in Kansas are saving money on their health insurance this year

You can still get a nationwide PPO in Kansas, and you can keep a busy storm-repair year from turning into a tax bill. Here's how builders and remodelers across Kansas are handling coverage when the weather sets their income.

Sam Jaber, licensed health insurance broker

Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a health insurance broker in Tampa with a Kansas license among my 36 states, and I do all my work by phone.

Building in Kansas means building around the weather. A spring of hail can put new roofs, siding and windows on whole neighborhoods in Wichita or Salina, and a tornado can turn a quiet year into a long rebuild for the contractors nearby. For a builder's income, that's a gift with a catch. A storm year can pay more than anything you planned on, and the health insurance you bought last November was priced on a much smaller guess. This page is about handling that.

You can still get a nationwide PPO in Kansas

Whatever the weather does to your year, you can still get a nationwide PPO in Kansas through me.

You won't find it on HealthCare.gov. Kansas's 2026 marketplace has 64 individual medical plans, from 6 insurers, covering all 105 counties, and all 64 are EPOs. An EPO pays out of network only in an emergency. A PPO also pays for doctors outside its network, at a higher share for you, without a referral. Medically underwritten private plans run on national PPO networks and are priced on your health.

How the subsidy follows your income

The federal premium tax credit on HealthCare.gov is based on your household's net self-employment income for the coverage year: the profit left after materials, subs, trucks, equipment, permits and insurance. You give an estimate when you apply, and you're expected to update it as soon as it changes.

That's where storms bite. The credit you receive each month is based on your estimate. If a hail season doubles your work and your estimate stays where it was, the extra credit you shouldn't have gotten gets settled on your tax return.

The reverse happens too. Some springs the storms miss your part of the state, the insurance-claim work never shows up, and the year comes in lighter than you planned. Lowering the estimate when that becomes clear can raise the credit for the rest of the year. Either way, the goal is the same: an estimate that tracks what the business is actually doing, revisited whenever the sky changes your plans.

Scenario 1 of 3

A storm season blew past my estimate

This is the situation the page is built around. Here's how I'd handle it with you:

  • As soon as you can see the storm work is real, roughly size the year and raise your income estimate on HealthCare.gov. The credit shrinks for the remaining months instead of coming back at tax time.
  • If the new number puts your household past the credit range entirely, that's the moment to price alternatives, because you're now paying full price for an EPO.
  • Keep good books through the rebuild. Materials and subs move fast in a storm year, and an accurate profit figure protects you in both directions.
Scenario 2 of 3

The rebuild years put us over the line and we're healthy

If a run of storm years has your household earning past the credit range, a healthy family should price a medically underwritten nationwide PPO. The insurer reviews your health questionnaire and approves you, declines you, or approves you with one past condition excluded. When you're healthy, that's what can bring the premium below the marketplace's full rate. Benefits vary by plan, so we go through them together.

Scenario 3 of 3

Someone at home has a condition, or a quiet year

If a family member needs ongoing care or a daily prescription, stay on HealthCare.gov even at full price; its plans can't turn you away or charge more for health. A quiet year has its own risk in Kansas: the state hasn't adopted the Medicaid expansion, so Medicaid is very limited for working adults, and the marketplace credit generally starts only at the poverty level. Plan the estimate carefully in a slow year. And workers' comp only covers job-site injuries, never illness.

Where the Kansas figures come from

  • Kansas's individual marketplace runs on HealthCare.gov; Kansas is one of the states in the federal 2026 QHP Landscape file Source
  • All 64 individual medical plans on the Kansas marketplace for 2026 are EPOs; none is a PPO. They come from 6 insurers and cover all 105 Kansas counties Source
  • EPO plans cover out-of-network care only in an emergency; PPO plans cover out-of-network care at a higher cost without a referral Source
  • Self-employed people report net self-employment income to the marketplace, estimate it for the coverage year, and should update it as soon as it changes Source
  • Kansas has not adopted the Medicaid expansion Source

Questions general contractors and builders ask me

Straight answers, no sales pitch.

Are there PPO plans on the Kansas marketplace?

Not for medical coverage. For 2026, all 64 individual medical plans on the Kansas marketplace are EPOs. A healthy builder can still get a nationwide PPO outside the marketplace.

What should I do if hail season makes my year much bigger?

Raise your income estimate on HealthCare.gov as soon as you can see it coming, so your premium tax credit adjusts now instead of at tax time.

What income does the marketplace use for a Kansas contractor?

Your net self-employment income for the coverage year, meaning profit after business expenses.

Did Kansas expand Medicaid?

No. Kansas has not adopted the Medicaid expansion.

Tell me what this storm season looks like

Your Kansas county, the people on your plan and how this year compares with a normal one are what I need. You'll get a realistic income figure, real prices and a straight recommendation, even if it's to keep your current plan.

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