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Iowa · 2026 plan year

Bronze health insurance plans in Iowa (2026)

There are 41 Bronze plans on the Iowa Marketplace from 6 insurers, and they are not interchangeable — premiums run from $264 to $400 a month for the same metal tier. Here is what separates them.

41
Bronze plans
6
Insurers
99
Counties covered
$264
Cheapest premium
$7,500
Median deductible
These are benchmark premiums, not your price. Every dollar figure here is the individual rate at age 21 for a non-tobacco user, before any premium tax credit — the standard way plans are compared like for like. What you actually pay depends on your age, county, household and income. Estimate your real cost.

Every Iowa Bronze plan is HSA-eligible.

All 41 Bronze plans here meet the IRS high-deductible rules, so any of them can be paired with a health savings account — letting you set aside pre-tax money against the deductible, a median of $7,500 in this tier.

Iowa Bronze premiums rank 4th cheapest of 35.

Averaged across all 41 plans, Bronze coverage in Iowa costs $332 a month before subsidies — 4th lowest of the 35 states with federal-marketplace data. Premiums vary far more by county and age than this single number suggests.

Metal tiers describe roughly what share of covered costs a plan pays, not the quality of its care or network. How the metal tiers actually differ walks through the trade, and how ACA subsidies work explains why the prices below are rarely what anyone pays.

Cost

What a Bronze plan costs in Iowa in 2026

Across all 41 Bronze plans in Iowa, monthly premiums run from $264 to $400, averaging $332. Those are age-21, non-tobacco rates before any subsidy — the basis every figure on this page uses, and rarely what anyone actually pays. Premium tax credits cut that bill for most Iowa enrollees, often to a fraction of the sticker price.

Deductibles

Bronze plan deductibles in Iowa

Bronze deductibles in Iowa run from $4,700 to $8,450, with a median of $7,500 across the 36 plans with one combined deductible — the amount you pay yourself before the plan starts sharing most costs. The median is the closest thing to a typical plan; the mean sits at $7,314 because the spread is not symmetric. The other 5 set a separate deductible for prescription drugs, so their medical deductible alone would understate what you pay; they are left out of these figures, and the table below shows both deductibles where a plan has two. No single figure is a quote — the table below shows the real deductible on each of the cheapest plans, and the insurer breakdown shows how the range splits by carrier.

Out-of-pocket maximum

Bronze out-of-pocket maximums in Iowa

Individual out-of-pocket maximums on Iowa Bronze plans run from $7,500 to $10,600, with a median of $10,150. That is the ceiling on what a plan can make you pay in a year for covered in-network care — after you reach it, the plan pays 100% of covered services. It is the number that matters most in a bad year, and the top of the range here is set by the federal limit that applies to every Marketplace plan, not by the insurer.

Lowest premiums

The cheapest Bronze plans in Iowa

PlanPremium / mo (age 21, pre-subsidy)DeductibleOut-of-pocket max
Bronze Classic Standard | MercyOneOscar Insurance Company$264$7,500$10,000
Bronze Simple Diabetes | MercyOneOscar Insurance Company$270$5,500$10,150
Bronze Simple Breathe Easy with Enhanced COPD Benefits | MercyOneOscar Insurance Company$271$5,500$10,150
Bronze Classic 4700 | MercyOneOscar Insurance Company$272$4,700$9,300
Wellmark Bronze Standard | UnityPoint HealthWellmark Health Plan of Iowa, Inc.$274$7,500$10,000

Showing 5 of 41. See all Iowa Bronze plans →

Who sells here

Bronze plans by insurer

InsurerBronze plansCheapestTier averageDeductible range
Medica15$281$365$7,500–$8,000
Oscar Insurance Company9$264$292$4,700–$7,500
Ambetter Health6$282$304$7,500–$8,450
UnitedHealthcare4$376$383$7,500–$8,000
Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa, Inc.4$274$281$7,200–$8,300
Avera Health Plans3$326$340$6,500–$7,500
Other tiers in Iowa

How Bronze compares to the rest

Bronze
Avg $332 · from $264
41 plans · you are here
Silver
Avg $459 · from $353
41 plans
Gold
Avg $468 · from $338
36 plans

All IowaMarketplace plans →

Nearby on price

States with similar Bronze premiums

New Hampshire
Avg $313
16 Bronze plans
North Dakota
Avg $336
18 Bronze plans
Michigan
Avg $338
40 Bronze plans
Common questions

Iowa Bronze plans, answered

What are the copays on Iowa Bronze plans?
Copays vary plan by plan rather than by tier — the metal level sets roughly what share of total care costs the plan covers, not the individual amounts. What the tier does bound is the rest of the cost-sharing: across the 41 Bronze plans in Iowa, out-of-pocket maximums run $7,500 to $10,600, and deductibles on the 36 plans with one combined deductible run $4,700 to $8,450. The other 5 set a separate deductible for prescription drugs and are not included in the deductible figures. Open any plan below to see its full cost-sharing schedule, including primary care, specialist and prescription tiers.
Who is eligible for a Bronze plan in Iowa?
Any Iowa Marketplace shopper can choose Bronze. It carries the lowest premiums and the highest deductibles, and it is the tier most often paired with a health savings account. One trade-off worth knowing: choosing Bronze rather than Silver forfeits cost-sharing reductions entirely if your income would have qualified you for them.
What is the deductible on Iowa Bronze plans?
Bronze deductibles in Iowa run from $4,700 to $8,450 across the 36 plans with one combined deductible, with a median of $7,500 — that median is the figure closest to a typical plan. The other 5 set a separate deductible for prescription drugs and are not included in the deductible figures. Out-of-pocket maximums run $7,500 to $10,600. The spread inside a single tier is wide, so two plans at a similar premium can differ by thousands in what you would actually pay during a year with significant care. Deductible is usually a better basis for comparison than premium alone.
Are Bronze plans available in my Iowa county?
Bronze plans are sold in 99 Iowa counties, from 6 insurers. Which specific plans you can buy depends on where you live — a plan offered in a metro county is often not sold in a rural one. Enter your ZIP code to narrow the list to plans actually available to you.
When can I enroll in a Marketplace plan in Iowa?
Iowa uses the federal Marketplace, so open enrollment runs November 1 to January 15. Outside that window you need a qualifying life event — losing job-based coverage, moving, marriage, or a birth — to open a special enrollment period. Cheapest Bronze premiums in Iowa start at $264 a month before any subsidy.

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