Best Cheap Health Insurance in Hawaii (2024)
Kaiser Permanente’s KP HI Standard Silver is the cheapest Silver health insurance plan in Hawaii.
Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in Hawaii
The cheapest Silver health insurance plan in Hawaii is the KP HI Standard Silver. This plan is sold by Kaiser Permanente, and it costs as little as $457 per month (before subsidies) for a 40-year-old. You can buy this plan anywhere in Hawaii.
The average monthly cost of health insurance in Hawaii is $490 for a 40-year-old with a Silver plan.
Only two companies, Kaiser Permanente and HMSA, sell health insurance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace in Hawaii. That means you'll have fewer choices when shopping for a health plan compared to someone who lives in a larger state like California or New York.
Kaiser Permanente is the best health insurance company in Hawaii, and one of the best in the U.S., because of its low-cost plans and high levels of customer satisfaction. Kaiser Permanente has the cheapest Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum plans in Hawaii. It also has the lowest average costs. In addition, Kaiser Permanente has a five-star rating from HealthCare.gov. This is the highest score possible. HealthCare.gov ratings measure factors like plan quality and customer satisfaction.
How much does health insurance cost in Hawaii?
Health insurance in Hawaii costs $490 per month for a 40-year-old with a Silver health plan. You'll pay more for higher-tier plans compared to lower-tier plans. Keep in mind that although high-tier plans have expensive monthly rates, you'll pay less when you go to the doctor or fill a prescription.
Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in Hawaii
Your age is another big factor that influences your health insurance rates. In Hawaii, a 60-year-old will pay more than twice as much as a 40-year-old for the same coverage.
Cheapest health insurance in Hawaii
The cheapest health insurance plans in Hawaii at the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels are from Kaiser Permanente. The HMSA Catastrophic Plan is the cheapest Catastrophic coverage.
Cheapest health insurance in HI
Tier | Cheapest plan | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Catastrophic | HMSA Catastrophic Plan | $212 |
| Bronze | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Bronze | $360 |
| Silver | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Silver | $457 |
| Gold | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Gold | $480 |
| Platinum | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Platinum | $609 |
Monthly costs are for a 40-year-old.
Where you live may influence your plan options. However, because Hawaii is such a small state with a concentrated health insurance market, it's unlikely that you'll see a dramatically different plan selection.
Finding your best health insurance coverage in Hawaii
Before you can find the best health insurance coverage for you in Hawaii, you'll need to choose the right plan tier for your needs.
Higher plan tiers such as Platinum and Gold typically have the most expensive rates. However, these plans cost the least when you need to visit the doctor or get a prescription filled. This trade-off makes them well-suited for people who need ongoing medical care.
Lower plan tiers such as Silver and Bronze have the most affordable monthly rates. But you'll need to pay a high deductible. After you've met your deductible, you'll still have to pay more out of pocket compared to higher-tier plans. You should consider these plans if you're in good health and have a good amount in savings.
Plan tiers have nothing to do with covered medical services. A Gold plan doesn't necessarily offer more care than a Bronze plan.
Gold and Platinum plans: Best for people with chronic illnesses
Platinum and Gold plans have the highest monthly rates but the lowest out-of-pocket costs, such as your deductible, copay and coinsurance. .
You should only consider a Platinum or Gold plan if you can afford the expensive monthly payments and you get medical care often enough to make this coverage worthwhile.
In Hawaii, the cheapest Silver health plan costs $276 per year less than the cheapest Gold plan. Imagine a scenario in which you get into an accident. After leaving the hospital, you have a $3,000 bill.
With the cheapest Gold plan, your benefits would kick in after you pay the $1,500 deductible. You would pay 25% of the remaining $1,500 for your coinsurance, leaving you with a total bill of $1,875. Your insurance would pay $1,125.
By contrast, the cheapest Silver plan has a $5,900 annual deductible, meaning you would pay for the entire procedure yourself. You would have to pay $2,900 more out of pocket before getting any health insurance benefits. Even after subtracting the $276 you'd save on your annual rate costs, you would still spend $1,599 more with the Silver plan.
Silver plans: Best for most people
Silver plans tend to offer the most value since they have a balance between low rates and affordable out-of-pocket costs. Unlike other plan tiers, Silver plans are eligible for subsidies called cost-sharing reductions (CSRs).
Cost-sharing reductions can help you pay for your out-of-pocket costs, such as your deductible, copays and coinsurance. If you have a low income, you may qualify for both premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions. This can substantially lower your costs.
Bronze and Catastrophic plans: Best for healthy people with emergency savings
Bronze and Catastrophic plans typically have the lowest rates. But these plans also have the highest deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. You might benefit from a Bronze or Catastrophic plan if you're in good health and you can afford the expensive out-of-pocket costs.
You can only buy a Catastrophic health plan if you're under the age of 30, or if you qualify for a hardship exemption. Catastrophic plans are rarely worthwhile because of their high deductibles. Also, they're not eligible for premium tax credits or marketplace subsidies.
If you earn a low income, you're usually better off enrolling in Medicaid or getting a Bronze or Silver plan with marketplace subsidies.
Medicaid: Best if you have a low income
Medicaid is a type of free government health insurance that's available to people who earn a low income.
In Hawaii, you can enroll in Medicaid if you make about $20,000 or less (roughly $41,000 for a family of four).
Are health insurance rates going up in Hawaii?
The average cost of health insurance in Hawaii increased modestly for most plans between 2023 and 2024. Silver plans are 1% more expensive compared to 2023, and Gold plans are 3% more expensive. Platinum plans saw a 5% rise in prices, and the average cost of a Bronze plan rose by 7%.
Catastrophic plans bucked this trend with a year-over-year increase of 19%.
Tier | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Change (2023 to 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | $313 | $365 | $390 | 7% |
| Silver | $490 | $482 | $490 | 1% |
| Gold | $480 | $493 | $510 | 3% |
| Platinum | $558 | $586 | $617 | 5% |
Monthly costs are for a 40-year-old.
Find Cheap Health Insurance Quotes in Hawaii
Best cheap health insurance companies in Hawaii
Kaiser Permanente is the best health insurance company in Hawaii. It has the cheapest health plans in Hawaii and the highest quality rating from HealthCare.gov in the state. Kaiser Permanente also gets 3% of the customer complaints expected for an average insurance company of a similar size.
Best health insurance companies in HI
Company | Cost | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser Permanente | $474 | |
| HMSA | Not yet rated | $551 | |
Average monthly cost for a 40-year-old buying a Silver plan in HI. Ratings are based on editor reviews of the company.
Although Kaiser Permanente offers the lowest prices and highest-quality plans, HMSA is the most popular health insurance company in Hawaii. It sells just over 60% of all health plans for the state.
Cheapest health insurance plan by Hawaii county
For 2024, Kaiser Permanente's KP HI Standard Silver is the cheapest Silver health plan in all of Hawaii. However, it's important to remember that other plans may not be available in every Hawaiian county.
Cheapest health insurance by HI county
County | Cheapest Silver plan | Monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Silver | $457 |
| Honolulu | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Silver | $457 |
| Kalawao | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Silver | $457 |
| Kauai | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Silver | $457 |
| Maui | Kaiser Permanente KP HI Standard Silver | $457 |
Cheapest Silver plan with rates for a 40-year-old
Average cost of health insurance by family size in Hawaii
You can expect to pay a higher monthly rate for health insurance as the size of your family grows. In Hawaii, two married 40-year-olds will pay $979 per month for a Silver plan, on average, while a single parent with a minor child will pay $783 per month on average.
Add $293 for each child under the age of 15 to get a rough idea of how much you'll pay for your family's health insurance.
Family size | Average cost |
|---|---|
| Individual and child | $783 |
| Couple, age 40 | $979 |
| Family of three (adult couple and a child) | $1,272 |
| Family of four (adult couple and two children) | $1,565 |
| Family of five (adult couple and three children) | $1,858 |
Short-term health insurance in Hawaii
For 2024, no companies are selling short-term health insurance in Hawaii.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best health insurance in Hawaii?
Kaiser Permanente's KP HI Standard Silver plan is the best cheap health insurance in Hawaii for most people. It costs $457 per month for a 40-year-old, which is 7% below the state average.
Does Hawaii have free health care?
You may qualify for Medicaid, a type of free government health insurance, if you live in Hawaii and you earn about $20,000 per year or less ($41,000 for a family of four).
If you don't meet the income requirements for Medicaid, you likely can't get free insurance. However, you may qualify for an ACA marketplace subsidy, which can significantly lower the monthly cost of regular health insurance.
How much is health insurance in Hawaii per month?
The average cost of a Silver health insurance plan in Hawaii is $490 per month for a 40-year-old. Your cost will depend on factors like your age, income, location and the plan tier you choose.
Methodology
ValuePenguin compiled average values by age, county, plan tier and family size for the state of Hawaii by using public use files (PUFs) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Only companies and plans listed in CMS Crosswalk files were included in our analysis.
HealthCare.gov provided quality ratings for Kaiser Permanente and HMSA. Complaint data came from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and information related to short-term health insurance was sourced from healthinsurance.org.
Editorial note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.