Best Cheap Health Insurance in Delaware (2024)

AmeriHealth Caritas Next Silver Classic is the cheapest Silver health plan in all three Delaware counties. It costs as little as $528 per month for a 40-year-old. You can expect to save roughly 7% off the Delaware state average with this plan.

Aetna, AmeriHealth and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) are the only three health insurance companies in Delaware. That means your health plan selection will be limited compared to other states.

How much does health insurance cost in Delaware?

On average, a 40-year-old living in Delaware will pay $567 per month for a Silver health plan. You can expect your monthly rate to increase as you grow older.

Higher-tier plans, such as Gold and Platinum, have more expensive monthly rates but lower costs when you visit the doctor or get a prescription filled. Lower-tier plans like Bronze and Catastrophic coverage have cheaper rates, but you should be prepared to pay more if you access medical care.

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The plan tier you choose and your age both affect your health insurance costs.

In Delaware, a 40-year-old would pay 28% more than a 21-year-old for a Silver policy, while a 60-year-old would pay more than twice as much as a 40-year-old for the same policy.

Age-related price differences are typically modest for young adults. You see the sharpest increases as you near retirement age. Fortunately, you can normally qualify for Medicare once you reach 65, which usually lowers the cost of insurance.

Cheapest health insurance in Delaware

AmeriHealth Caritas Next has the cheapest health insurance plans in Delaware for Bronze, Silver and Gold plan tiers.

But if you want Catastrophic or Platinum coverage, you'll have to go with Highmark BCBS. It's the only health insurance company in Delaware to offer all five plan tiers.

Aetna only sells Silver and Gold plans in Delaware.

Cheapest health insurance in DE

Health plan availability varies by location. The cheapest plan in your county may be different from the plans listed in the table above.

Find the best health insurance for you in Delaware

However, the best health insurance plan for you may not be the cheapest on the market.

You should look at factors like how many complaints a company gets and which doctors you can see when picking a plan. It's also important to note that plan availability varies by county. Finally, you should decide which plan tier will cost you the least in the long run.

Gold and Platinum plans usually have more expensive upfront costs, but you'll pay less when you access medical care. These plans are best suited for people with ongoing illnesses. If you're in good health and you can cover an unexpected cost, you should opt for a Silver or Bronze plan. These plans have a cheaper monthly rate but higher costs when you visit the doctor or get a prescription filled.

Gold and Platinum plans: Best for high medical costs

Gold and Platinum health plans charge the highest monthly rates, but they typically have the cheapest out-of-pocket costs, such as deductibles, copays and coinsurance.

Consider a Gold or Platinum plan if you have costly, ongoing medical treatments. You'll likely save money on doctor's visits and medicine.

Silver plans: Best for most people

Silver plans offer middle-of-the-road monthly rates and out-of-pocket costs. You can also qualify for cost-sharing reductions if you have a low household income.

These subsidies reduce the cost of visiting the doctor and buying prescription drugs.

Bronze and Catastrophic plans: Best for healthy people with emergency savings

While Bronze and Catastrophic plans have the cheapest monthly costs, their high deductibles mean you'll usually have to pay thousands of dollars before your full health insurance benefits kick in.

You can't buy a Catastrophic plan unless you're younger than 30 or if you qualify for a hardship exemption. Catastrophic plans are also not eligible for premium tax credits, which could make them more expensive than a Bronze plan if you earn a low income.

Medicaid: Best if you have a low income

You can qualify for Medicaid in Delaware if you earn below roughly $21,000 for a single person or $41,000 for a family of four. Medicaid is free health insurance that the government offers to people who earn a low income.

Are health insurance rates going up in Delaware?

The average cost of health insurance in Delaware was mostly flat between 2023 and 2024. Bronze and Gold plan rates decreased slightly, rates for Platinum plans went up by 4% and Silver plans didn't see movement in either direction.

Catastrophic health coverage was an exception, with costs rising 8% over the past year.

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Best cheap health insurance companies in Delaware

Adjusted for size, Highmark BCBS has the lowest recorded number of customer complaints out of any health insurance company in Delaware. Blue Cross Blue Shield also got high marks from ValuePenguin's editors with a company score of four out of five stars.

Customer complaint data is not available for AmeriHealth Caritas, possibly due to its small market share.

In 2024, you can buy plans from three companies on HealthCare.gov .

Cheapest health insurance companies in DE

AmeriHealth Caritas offers the best cheap health insurance in all three of Delaware's counties. However, if you're considering factors other than price, you should remember that plan availability can vary by location.

Cheapest health insurance by DE county

Average cost of health insurance by family size in Delaware

Your monthly health insurance bill will grow along with the size of your family. A single person with a child will pay an average of $906 per month. Each additional child costs $339, on average.

Short-term health insurance in Delaware

Short-term health insurance is available in Delaware, but policies are subject to several rules that lower their usefulness. For example, you can only buy coverage for a maximum period of three months. Policies can't be bought back to back. And you can only buy one policy per insurance company per year.

A short-term plan may help you bridge the gap between group plans if you're temporarily out of work or you have a gap in coverage. But, they come with several drawbacks.

For example, they don't have to offer the same level of coverage as an ACA marketplace plan. Marketplace plans are required by law to offer coverage in 10 essential areas.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

Public use files (PUFs) were used to determine average health insurance rates by age, county, plan tier and family size for the state of Delaware. Complaint data was supplied by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and HealthCare.gov provided important regulatory information.