Mississippi Health Insurance Consumer Guide

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.

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. 

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

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

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

Mississippi’s individual market insurance companies have requested the following rate changes for 2024:¹⁰ 

(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.

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

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]