You can still get a nationwide PPO in Kansas, even though the marketplace sells only EPOs. Here is what a short list of insurers means for agents in Wichita and much of the state, and what to do about it.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. Kansas agents, whether you sell in Wichita, Overland Park or Hays, can sort out their health coverage with me by phone. I work out of Tampa as a licensed broker in 36 states.
This page is about a Kansas situation that surprises people: how few marketplace insurers some counties have. In Sedgwick County, home to Wichita, only 2 insurers sell plans on HealthCare.gov. Over in Johnson, Wyandotte and Miami counties there are 5, the most anywhere in Kansas. Your county decides how many networks you can choose from, and for an agent who already knows which doctors she wants, that can decide everything.
Kansas has 64 individual medical plans on the marketplace this year, and all of them are EPOs. There's no PPO to choose, whatever county you're in.
You can still get a nationwide PPO in Kansas, set up privately through me. A health questionnaire determines the premium, and the network covers doctors and hospitals nationally, including the specialists in Kansas City or Oklahoma City a Wichita family sometimes drives to.
An EPO generally pays outside its network only in an emergency. So in a two-insurer county like Sedgwick, choosing a marketplace plan really comes down to choosing between two networks. If your doctor, your spouse's specialist and your kids' pediatrician aren't all inside one of them, no marketplace plan covers the whole family's routine care.
The quick test:
An empty circle list means the marketplace may work fine. A long one means a nationwide PPO deserves a quote.
At full price, paying for one of two EPO networks is a weak deal if neither covers your doctors. The underwritten route asks you medical questions up front, then approves, declines, or approves with a single condition excluded. A healthy agent can often get that coverage for less than the marketplace's full rate.
Next step: Give me your doctor list and county, and I'll compare both marketplace networks with a nationwide PPO quote.
With the credit, a marketplace EPO is usually the most affordable choice, so pick the network that holds the most of your doctors. Keep your income current on HealthCare.gov; commissions that beat your estimate are reconciled at tax time, with no repayment cap for tax years after 2025.
Next step: Send me your pipeline and last year's net, and I'll help you settle on an estimate and the better of your county's networks.
Stay on the marketplace for that person, whatever you earn, since its plans can't refuse anyone or charge more for health history. In a thin county, choose the network that includes their specialists first, then fit everyone else around it.
Next step: Tell me that person's doctors and medications, and I'll find which Kansas network covers them.
Agents tend to have strong opinions about their doctors, often built over years in the same community. In a five-insurer county, there's a decent chance one network includes all of them. In a two-insurer county like Sedgwick, the odds drop sharply, and in the 14 Kansas counties with a single insurer, you either fit that one network or you don't. Before you assume the marketplace is your only option, find out how many networks you really have and whether your doctors are in any of them. That five-minute check is often what decides whether a nationwide PPO is worth it.
Kansas hasn't adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion, so a very slow year doesn't come with the safety net agents in neighboring states may have. Plan your estimate carefully before you enroll, and revisit it if a listing you were counting on falls through.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Sedgwick County has 2 for 2026. Johnson, Wyandotte and Miami counties have 5, the most in Kansas.
No. Kansas's marketplace sells only EPOs, 64 of them this year. A healthy agent can still have a nationwide PPO, purchased privately, and I can arrange it.
An EPO generally won't pay for routine care outside its network, so a nationwide PPO may be the better fit if you're healthy.
No. Kansas hasn't adopted the ACA Medicaid expansion.
Tell me your county, your doctors, who's on the plan and what you netted after splits. I'll show you every marketplace network available to you beside a nationwide PPO quote.
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