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Mississippi Health Insurance Consumer Guide
Use this guide to help you find the right health plan in Mississippi. Many people find an ACA Marketplace plan, also known as Obamacare or exchange, to be a cost-effective choice.
Mississippi uses the federally run health insurance exchange Healthcare.gov for residents to purchase its ACA Marketplace plans. The Marketplace provides access to health insurance products from private insurers. Depending on your income and other circumstances, you may also get help to lower your monthly insurance premium (the amount you pay to enroll in the coverage) and possibly your out-of-pocket expenses.
Explore our other comprehensive guides to coverage in Mississippi
Dental coverage in Mississippi
Need dental coverage? Learn about available options and find the right dental plan in Mississippi with our guide.
Mississippi’s Medicaid program
Mississippi has not expanded Medicaid eligibility as allowed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), despite the state medical association’s support of expansion going back to August 2016. 1
Enrollment for Medicare in Mississippi
As of early 2023, there were 625,029 people with Medicare coverage in Mississippi. 2 Our Mississippi Medicare guide explains what you need to know about the various parts of Medicare, as well as state regulations pertaining to Medigap plans.
Short-term coverage in Mississippi
In Mississippi, consumers can buy short-term health insurance plans with initial policy terms of up to 364 days with the option to renew for a total duration up to 36 months. As of 2023, there were at least eight insurers selling short-term health insurance plans in Mississippi.3
Frequently asked questions about health insurance in Mississippi
Who can buy Marketplace health insurance?
To qualify for health coverage through the Marketplace in Mississippi, you must:4
- Live in Mississippi.
- Be lawfully present in the United States
- Not be incarcerated.
- Not be enrolled in Medicare
Eligibility for financial assistance (premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions) depends on your income and how it compares with the cost of the second-lowest-cost Silver plan in your area – which depends on your age and location. In addition, to qualify for financial assistance with your Marketplace plan you must:
- Not have access to affordable health coverage through your employer. If your employer offers coverage but you feel it’s too expensive, you can use our Employer Health Plan Affordability Calculator to see if you might qualify for premium subsidies in the Marketplace.
- Not be eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.
When can I enroll in an ACA-compliant plan in Mississippi?
In Mississippi, the open enrollment period for individual/family health coverage runs from November 1 to January 15.5
Enrollments must be submitted by December 15 in order to have coverage effective January 1. Enrollments submitted in the final month of the open enrollment window have an effective date of February 1 instead.4
Outside of open enrollment, a qualifying event is necessary to enroll or make changes to your coverage. If you have questions about open enrollment, you can learn more in our comprehensive guide to open enrollment. We also have a comprehensive guide to special enrollment periods.
How do I enroll in a Mississippi Marketplace plan?
If you’re eligible for an ACA Marketplace plan, you can enroll three ways:
- Online through HealthCare.gov
- By phone at (800) 318-2596
- In person through agents, navigators, certified application counselors, or an approved enhanced direct enrollment entity.6
How can I find affordable health insurance in Mississippi?
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there are income-based subsidies that can help lower your premium payments each month. These subsidies are available to Mississippi residents who meet the eligibility requirements and enroll in Marketplace coverage.
Almost all of Mississippi’s exchange enrollees – 97% – were receiving premium subsidies as of early 2023, with an average savings of $580/month. These subsidies reduced the average enrollee’s premium to about $45/month.7 These subsidies, known as Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC), help lower your premium.
The Affordable Care Act provides income-based advance premium tax credits (subsidies) that offset your premium payments to help keep your expenses down. People with household incomes below 250%of the federal poverty level also qualify for cost-sharing reductions (CSR) that may reduce your deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses when you buy a Silver plan.8 Between the premium subsidies and cost-sharing reductions, you may find that an ACA plan is the cheapest health insurance option for you.
Source: CMS.gov9
How many insurers offer Marketplace coverage in Mississippi?
For 2024 coverage, five insurers will offer exchange plans in Mississippi:10
- Ambetter of Magnolia
- Cigna Health and Life insurance
- Molina Healthcare of Mississippi
- UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi
- Vantage Health Plan of Mississippi
Five insurers offer 2023 exchange plans in Mississippi10, including one that rejoined the exchange for 2023:
- Molina
- Ambetter/Magnolia
- Cigna
- Vantage Health Plan of Mississippi
- UnitedHealthcare (new for 2023, after previously leaving the market at the end of 2016)
All Mississippi residents have access to plans from at least three insurers for 2023. 11
Are Marketplace health insurance premiums increasing in Mississippi?
Mississippi’s individual market insurance companies have requested the following rate changes for 2024:10
Mississippi’s ACA Marketplace Plan 2024 Proposed Rate Increases by Insurance Company |
|
---|---|
Issuer | Percent Increase |
Ambetter/Magnolia | 4.14% |
Cigna | 1.81% |
Vantage Health Plan of Mississippi | 8.07% |
Molina | -0.91% |
UnitedHealthcare | 0.86% |
(Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi raised average premiums by 5.5% for 2023, but their individual/family plans are not available through the marketplace in Mississippi, and can only be purchased off-exchange, without any subsidies.)
Mississippi continues to be one of just two states (the other is Indiana) where the cost of cost-sharing reductions is spread across plans at all metal levels (broad loading), instead of being added only to Silver plan rates (Silver loading). West Virginia also took that approach through 2021, but transitioned to a Silver loading approach as of 2022. Mississippi’s Insurance Department confirmed that the broad load approach is still being used for 2023.
Silver loading makes coverage more affordable in many cases, because it increases the price of Silver-level plans, and subsidy amounts are based on the cost of the second-lowest-cost Silver plan. But Mississippi regulators have not yet taken advantage of this approach, even though it’s being used in nearly every other state.
How many people are insured through Mississippi’s Marketplace?
In Mississippi, 183,478 people enrolled in private plans through the Mississippi Marketplace during the open enrollment period for 2023, setting a new record high for the state. 12
This increase in enrollment is thanks in part to the American Rescue Plan (ARP). Under the ARP, ACA’s premium subsidies are larger and more widely available. ARP has been extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act.13
Source: 2014,14 2015, 15 2016,16 2017,17 2018,18 2019,19 2020,20 2021,21 2022,22 2023,13 202423
What health insurance resources are available to Mississippi residents?
HealthCare.gov
800-318-2596
State Exchange Profile: Mississippi
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation overview of Mississippi’s progress toward creating a state health insurance exchange.
Health Help Mississippi
Assists people insured by private health plans, Medicaid, or other plans in resolving problems pertaining to their health coverage; assists uninsured residents with access to care.
(877) 314-3843 / [email protected]
Louise Norris is an individual health insurance broker who has been writing about health insurance and health reform since 2006. She has written dozens of opinions and educational pieces about the Affordable Care Act for healthinsurance.org.
Footnotes
- “Medicaid expansion should be explored” The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, August 31, 2016 ⤶
- “Medicare Monthly Enrollment” CMS.gov, April 2023. ⤶
- “Availability of short-term health insurance in Mississippi”healthinsurance.org, January 24, 2023 ⤶
- “A quick guide to the Health Insurance Marketplace®” HealthCare.gov, Accessed August, 2023 ⤶ ⤶
- “When can you get health insurance?” HealthCare.gov, 2023 ⤶
- “Entities Approved to Use Enhanced Direct Enrollment” CMS.gov, April 28, 2023 ⤶
- “2023 OEP State-Level Public Use File (ZIP)” CMS.gov, March 23, 2023. ⤶
- “APTC and CSR Basics” CMS.gov, June 2023 ⤶
- “2024 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, March 2024 ⤶
- “Mississippi Rate Review Submissions” Healthcare.gov, 2023 ⤶ ⤶ ⤶
- “County by County Plan Year 2023” CMS.gov, October 21, 2022 ⤶
- “Marketplace 2023 Open Enrollment Period Report: Final National Snapshot” CMS.gov, January 2023 ⤶
- “Health Insurance Marketplaces 2023 Open Enrollment Report” CMS.gov, 2023 ⤶ ⤶
- “ASPE Issue Brief (2014)” ASPE, 2015 ⤶
- “Health Insurance Marketplaces 2015 Open Enrollment Period: March Enrollment Report”, HHS.gov, 2015 ⤶
- “HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACES 2016 OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD: FINAL ENROLLMENT REPORT” HHS.gov, 2016 ⤶
- “2017 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2017 ⤶
- “2018 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2018 ⤶
- “2019 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2019 ⤶
- “2020 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2020 ⤶
- “2021 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2021 ⤶
- “2022 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files” CMS.gov, 2022 ⤶
- “HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACES 2024 OPEN ENROLLMENT REPORT” CMS.gov, 2024 ⤶