The cheapest health insurance in North Dakota for most people seeking a Silver plan is the Sanford Simplicity $4,750 plan, which is the most affordable Silver plan in three-fourths of the state's counties. However, in the five counties where it's available, mostly near Fargo and Bismark, the Sanford TRUE $4,750 is the cheapest Silver plan for residents.

Your financial situation and health will play a large part in finding the most cost-effective plan for you. Although these are the lowest-cost plans in the state, the rates and availability of health plans will change depending on where you live.

Cheapest health insurance by plan tier

We compared plans in North Dakota to find the cheapest health insurance policy for each tier of coverage.

The Sanford TRUE $4,750 is the cheapest Silver plan and comes with a monthly premium of $426 for a 40-year-old. On the other hand, the cheapest Gold plan, the Sanford TRUE $1,750, has a monthly premium of $401 and a much lower deductible of $1,750.

Metal tier and age are both important factors that affect your monthly health insurance premiums. Higher metal tier policies tend to have higher monthly rates, but they also have lower out-of-pocket costs, meaning you'll pay less in the event you need to use your health insurance. They generally cost more up front but offer you more protection.

Regardless of plan tier, as you get older, your monthly rates will increase. A 40-year-old, for instance, pays 28% more than a 21-year-old, which equates to $117 more for a Silver plan on average.

Finding your best health insurance coverage in North Dakota

Typically, higher metal tier policies, such as Gold plans, cost more, but they also provide lower out-of-pocket expenses, like deductibles, copays and coinsurance. These health plans are best if you think you may become sick or already have high recurring medical costs, like prescriptions. On the other hand, those who are young and healthy or don't expect to have many medical costs may wish to choose a lower metal tier plan to save money.

Gold plans: Best for high expected medical costs

The cheapest Gold plan in North Dakota is the Sanford TRUE $1,750. Compare all tiers in North Dakota above.

Gold is the highest metal tier available in North Dakota, and you can expect these policies to cover roughly 80% of your health care expenses, while you pay the other 20%. Gold health plans typically cover the greatest share of out-of-pocket costs, which means lower deductibles, copays and coinsurance.

Generally, Gold health insurance policies are the best plans in terms of cost-effectiveness if you expect to incur high medical expenses, such as from chronic conditions, or have costly prescriptions.

Silver plans: Best for those with low incomes or average medical costs

The cheapest Silver plan in North Dakota is the Sanford TRUE $4,750. Compare all tiers in North Dakota above.

For many households, in terms of monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs, Silver plans fall between Gold and Bronze metal tier plans and serve as a good middle-ground option. However, Silver plans stand out for lower-income households, as these policies are eligible for cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies that would further lower your out-of-pocket expenses. Typical Silver plans cover about 70% of your health care costs, while you pay 30%. But under CSR subsidies, you could qualify for a Silver plan that covers up to 94% of your health care costs.

Bronze and Catastrophic plans: Best for young, healthy people

The cheapest Bronze plan in North Dakota is the Sanford TRUE $7,000. The cheapest Catastrophic plan is the Sanford TRUE $9,100. Compare all tiers in North Dakota above.

Catastrophic and Bronze health insurance plans offer the cheapest monthly premiums. However, Catastrophic plans are only available to those under 30 or those who qualify for an exemption. Also, you cannot use a premium tax credit to reduce the cost of a Catastrophic plan.

Bronze plans are the cheapest plans that are open to everyone but come with reduced coverage, meaning larger out-of-pocket costs relative to the higher metal tier plans. So if you need medical care during the year, you have to pay more money out of pocket before coverage kicks in.

On average, you can expect a Bronze plan to cover about 60% of your health care costs, while you pay for the other 40%. Therefore, we only recommend these plans if you have the financial means to cover high costs in the case of a medical catastrophe.

Short-term health insurance in North Dakota

Short-term health insurance can be purchased in North Dakota. A short-term plan can be a good choice if you miss the open enrollment period or lose employer-sponsored health insurance. However, in North Dakota, these plans can only provide coverage for a term of up to 12 months and do not necessarily cover the essential health benefits that state marketplace plans are required to cover.

Best cheap health insurance companies in North Dakota

There are three health insurance providers on the North Dakota exchange, though the availability of each company depends on your location. The three companies in North Dakota are Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, Medica and Sanford Health Plan.

We recommend beginning your search for the best health insurance with Sanford because it offers the cheapest Silver plan for 86% of North Dakota counties. However, Medica offers the cheapest Silver plan in some counties as well.

Cheapest health insurance plan by county

Finding the best health plan for you can be challenging since the selection of plans and their costs change depending on your region. For instance, the cheapest Silver plan in Grand Forks County is the Altru Prime by Medica Silver Copay $0 PCP. However, in Cass County, the Sanford Simplicity $4,750 has the most affordable rates. To make this process simpler, we compared rates for every Silver policy in North Dakota to find the cheapest health plan in each county.

Average cost of health insurance by family size in North Dakota

In addition to your chosen health plan, the number of people covered and their ages will help determine the cost of health insurance for your family in North Dakota. If you add children to your health insurance plan, each child will cost a flat rate for coverage until they are 15 years old. Upon reaching the age of 15, the child's monthly rate will increase every year as they grow older.

For instance, the average monthly health insurance cost for a family of three, assuming two 40-year-old parents and a child, on a Silver plan, is $1,398 per month in North Dakota. If you were to add another child to the plan, the monthly premium would increase by $322 per month. So for a family of four, the total monthly cost of health coverage would be $1,720.

Health insurance rate changes in North Dakota

Policy premiums are set by each individual health insurance company before being sent to the North Dakota exchange for approval. For 2023 compared to 2022, the price of coverage has increased by 5%, from $392 to $410 per month.

While the average cost of coverage increased by 5%, each plan tier saw a different rate change. The greatest change affected Gold policies, which are 7% more expensive on average. Rates for Silver plans increased by 3%, the least in North Dakota.

Methodology

North Dakota health insurance rate and policy information was sourced from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) government website for this analysis. ValuePenguin referenced the CMS public use files (PUFs) to calculate the average premium by age, plan tier, family size and county. Plans and providers for which county-level data was included in the CMS Crosswalk file were used in our analysis; those excluded from this data set may not appear.