The Cheapest Health Insurance in NYC for 2027, in the Order You Should Check It

Why “cheapest” depends on income in New York

In New York City the cheapest coverage is not a product you find by comparing prices. It is the program your income places you in. One NY State of Health application screens you for Medicaid, the Essential Plan and Child Health Plus at once, and only if you qualify for none of them does it show you marketplace plans with whatever tax credit you are owed.

That is why the order below matters. A single 35-year-old earning just under the Essential Plan line who shops marketplace plans first is comparing premiums for coverage that, for her, would cost nothing on the Essential Plan.

The order to check, from $0 up

Medicaid, the Essential Plan and Child Health Plus take applications in any month. Marketplace plans have a season: open enrollment for 2027 runs November 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027, and you must enroll by December 15 for coverage starting January 1.

Step 1 and 2: Medicaid and the Essential Plan

Both cost $0 a month with no deductible, and you do not choose between them; the application places you. Medicaid covers lower incomes at any age and is the only program that includes long-term care. The Essential Plan covers adults 19 to 64 from the Medicaid line up to 200% of the poverty level, may carry small copays depending on your band, and includes dental and vision for most enrollees.

In 2026 dollars, 138% of the poverty level is about $22,025 for one person and 200% is $31,920. The poverty guideline starts at $15,960 for one person and adds $5,680 for each additional person, so the lines rise with household size. Every 2026 income line · Essential Plan vs Medicaid.

Two 2027 changes to know. Many Medicaid adults 19 to 64 must show 80 hours a month of work, school, training or community service, or an exemption, starting with renewals from March 1, 2027. And from January 1, 2027, federal funding for the Essential Plan is limited, among immigrants, to green card holders, certain Cuban and Haitian entrants and citizens of the Compact of Free Association nations; NY State of Health says it has notified affected enrollees. Immigrant coverage in 2027.

Step 3: Child Health Plus for the children

Children under 19 are never eligible for the Essential Plan; they go to Medicaid or Child Health Plus, and Child Health Plus has no immigration requirement. It is free up to 222% of the poverty level. Above that, the monthly premium is $15, $30, $45 or $60 per child depending on income, up to 400%, and it is charged for at most three children. A family of four earning up to $73,260 pays nothing. Child Health Plus.

Step 4: the marketplace, where price shopping finally matters

Above 200% of the poverty level, the cheapest real insurance is usually a marketplace plan bought through NY State of Health with the premium tax credit. The credit is calculated against the second-cheapest silver plan in your county and can be applied to any metal level, which is why a bronze plan can end up costing very little and a gold plan costs the full difference.

Three 2027 facts change the math:

• The enhanced credits of 2021 to 2025 are gone. For 2027 the credit generally stops at 400% of the poverty level, $63,840 for one person and $132,000 for a family of four in 2026 figures.
• The repayment cap is gone. If you underestimate income, the whole excess advance credit comes back on your tax return. Estimate on the high side if your pay is unpredictable.
• Rates rose less than insurers asked. Insurers requested an average +20.6% for 2027 individual plans; the Department of Financial Services approved +6.0%. Four individual insurers got 0.0%, and approvals ranged up to +12.2%.

For context, in the 2026 open enrollment New York’s average marketplace premium was $812 a month before credits; 42.6% of buyers had an advance credit, averaging $422. Those are averages, not your price. 2027 rates by insurer · How the credit works. For the cost figures themselves, the most you pay after the credit at each income level, the 2027 standard deductibles and the household price multiples, see how much health insurance costs in New York in 2027.

How to compare marketplace plans for the lowest total cost

Step 6: if you cannot get insurance at all

NYC Care is the city’s program for uninsured New Yorkers who do not qualify for, or cannot afford, insurance. It has no immigration status requirement. At or below 200% of the poverty level, primary care, specialty care and labs at NYC Health + Hospitals cost nothing; between 201% and 400%, a sliding-scale copay applies. Enroll by phone at 1-646-NYC-CARE (1-646-692-2273) any time of year.

It is not insurance: it does not pay a private hospital or a doctor outside the public system. For hospital bills, New York’s hospital financial assistance law makes care free at or below 200% of the poverty level for uninsured patients and caps charges up to 400%, whatever your status.

Cheapest option by situation

What to say on the phone to NY State of Health or a navigator:

“I want the lowest-cost coverage I qualify for. Please screen me for Medicaid, the Essential Plan and Child Health Plus first, and if I don’t qualify, show me the plans after my tax credit.”

Free, certified navigators can do that screening with you in person, in many languages, and they earn no commission. Find a navigator.