Health insurance at 60 to 64: 2026 prices for the years before Medicare
Quick answer
In 2026 the cheapest Marketplace Bronze plan for a 62-year-old costs about $842 a month in Harris County, Texas and $1,128 in Miami-Dade, Florida at full price (CMS plan file, August 4, 2026 snapshot). A single 62-year-old earning $60,000 gets a tax credit of roughly $830 to $1,040 a month in those counties, which brings the cheapest Bronze down to about $9 to $87. One dollar over $62,600 and the credit is zero.
At 60 to 64, a full-price Marketplace Bronze plan typically costs between about $800 and $1,200 a month in 2026, depending on the county, and the silver benchmark runs from roughly $1,000 to $1,600. Those are the highest Marketplace prices anyone pays, because the federal age curve lets insurers charge a 64-year-old three times what they charge a 21-year-old. The good news is that the tax credit grows with the premium, so an early retiree whose income sits under the 400% line often pays a small fraction of that number.
This guide puts county-level figures on the years between leaving work and turning 65: what the plans cost, what the credit does at different incomes, where the 2026 cliff bites hardest, and when a private plan is worth a look. Marketplace numbers come from the official 2026 plan file (CMS QHP Landscape PY2026, snapshot August 4, 2026); how we price explains the method.
What a 60 to 64-year-old pays at full price
Here is the cheapest Bronze plan and the silver benchmark (the second-lowest-cost Silver plan, which the tax credit is measured against) in the most populous county of five large HealthCare.gov states, at 60, 62 and 64. These are monthly premiums for one non-tobacco adult, before any credit.
| County | Cheapest Bronze, 60 | Cheapest Bronze, 62 | Cheapest Bronze, 64 | Silver benchmark, 62 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris County, TX | $795 | $842 | $879 | $1,331 |
| Maricopa County, AZ | $825 | $873 | $912 | $1,088 |
| Franklin County, OH | $844 | $893 | $933 | $1,210 |
| Wake County, NC | $947 | $1,002 | $1,046 | $1,328 |
| Miami-Dade County, FL | $1,065 | $1,128 | $1,178 | $1,539 |
Full monthly premium, one adult, non-tobacco, from the CMS plan-year 2026 Individual Medical file (snapshot August 4, 2026), using each state's age-rating ratios.
For comparison, the same Harris County Bronze plan is $375 a month for a 40-year-old. Nothing about the plan changes between 40 and 64; only the age factor does. Your own county may be higher or lower, and the price comparison tool shows every plan sold in your ZIP code at your exact age.
Why the price climbs so fast after 50
Marketplace insurers cannot price on health, but they can price on age, within limits. The federal default curve sets a 21-year-old at 1.0 and a 64-year-old at 3.0, the maximum the law allows. The steepest part of that curve is the last fifteen years: the factor is 1.786 at 50, 2.230 at 55, 2.714 at 60, 2.873 at 62 and 3.000 at 64. In practical terms, a 60-year-old pays about 52% more than a 50-year-old for the same plan, and a 64-year-old pays about 10% more than a 60-year-old.
Most states use the federal curve. A handful set their own, and New York and Vermont do not age-rate at all, which is why prices for older buyers in those states look very different. The state pages on this site, such as Florida and Texas, show the cheapest Bronze by age so you can see the curve in your own market.
One quirk worth knowing: in several of these counties the cheapest Gold plan lists below the cheapest Silver plan. In Miami-Dade, a 62-year-old's cheapest Gold is $1,403 against $1,533 for the cheapest Silver. That pattern comes from how insurers price Silver plans in many states, and it is worth checking in your own county before assuming Silver is the middle option.
What the tax credit does for an early retiree
The premium tax credit pays the difference between your county's silver benchmark and a set share of your household income. For 2026 that share runs from about 2.1% of income at the bottom of the range to 9.96% between 300% and 400% of the federal poverty level. Because the benchmark is age-rated and your share of income is not, the credit is far larger at 62 than at 40 for the same income. Here are the limits that apply to 2026 coverage:
| Household size | 100% of poverty level | 138% (Medicaid line in expansion states) | 400% (tax-credit limit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,650 | $21,597 | $62,600 |
| 2 | $21,150 | $29,187 | $84,600 |
| 3 | $26,650 | $36,777 | $106,600 |
| 4 | $32,150 | $44,367 | $128,600 |
| 5 | $37,650 | $51,957 | $150,600 |
| 6 | $43,150 | $59,547 | $172,600 |
2025 HHS poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and DC, which apply to 2026 coverage (Alaska and Hawaii are higher). Source: 90 FR 5917 and IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25.
Take a single 62-year-old with $60,000 of household income, which is 383% of the poverty level. The law expects that person to contribute 9.96% of income, about $498 a month, toward the benchmark. Everything above $498 is credit:
| County | Benchmark, 62 | Estimated credit | Cheapest Bronze after credit | Benchmark Silver after credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris County, TX | $1,331 | $833 | $9 | $498 |
| Miami-Dade County, FL | $1,539 | $1,041 | $87 | $498 |
| Wake County, NC | $1,328 | $830 | $172 | $498 |
| Franklin County, OH | $1,210 | $712 | $182 | $498 |
| Maricopa County, AZ | $1,088 | $590 | $283 | $498 |
Single adult, 62, $60,000 household income, 2026 rules (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25, HHS 2025 poverty guidelines), benchmark and Bronze prices from the CMS PY2026 file. The Marketplace sets the final credit.
Notice that the benchmark Silver plan costs the same $498 in every county. That is the design: the credit absorbs local price differences, so an early retiree in an expensive county is protected as long as income stays under the line. At lower incomes the effect is stronger still. At $45,000 the same 62-year-old is expected to pay about $359 a month for the benchmark, and in both Harris and Miami-Dade the credit is larger than the cheapest Bronze premium, which typically means a Bronze plan for $0 or close to it.
The cliff hits hardest in your sixties
The enhanced credits of 2021 through 2025 expired on December 31, 2025, so for 2026 the credit stops completely at 400% of the poverty level: $62,600 for one person and $84,600 for a couple in the 48 contiguous states. At 40, falling off that cliff costs a few hundred dollars a month. At 62 it can cost more than a thousand.
The single 62-year-old in Miami-Dade gets about $1,019 a month in credit at exactly $62,600. At $62,601 the credit is zero and the cheapest Bronze plan costs the full $1,128. Over a year that one dollar of income is worth more than $12,000.
Couples feel it even more. A couple aged 62 and 60 in Harris County faces a combined benchmark of $2,588 a month and a cheapest Bronze of $1,637. At $84,600 of income their credit is about $1,886, which covers the whole Bronze premium. At $85,000 they pay $1,637 a month, close to $19,700 a year, for the same plan. In Wake County the same couple would go from about $68 a month to $1,949. Our guide to the 400% cliff walks through the same problem for a younger family.
For early retirees the useful part is that income is often partly a choice. The credit uses modified adjusted gross income, which counts traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, pension income, taxable investment gains, and all of your Social Security benefits, including the untaxed part. Qualified Roth withdrawals and spending from cash savings generally do not count. Retirees who plan which account to draw from each year can sometimes stay under the line, and retirees who cannot may still find a better fit elsewhere. These rules have details and exceptions, so confirm with your tax professional before you set a withdrawal plan around them.
Private plans at 60: where they fit and where they do not
Private plans are priced on age, sex and health rather than income, so they do not change when you cross the 400% line. For a healthy 60-year-old, the starting ranges our advisors typically quote in these states are:
- Florida: man $440 to $781 a month, woman $368 to $704
- Texas: man $376 to $700, woman $323 to $647
- Arizona: man $366 to $688, woman $310 to $630
- North Carolina and Ohio: man $322 to $632; woman $269 to $577 in North Carolina and $257 to $562 in Ohio
A couple aged 62 and 60 is typically quoted $780 to $1,327 a month in Texas and $893 to $1,469 in Florida. Set against a full-price Bronze plan of $1,637 to $2,193 for that couple, the gap is large for anyone over the cliff. Set against a Bronze plan that costs little or nothing after the credit, which is where that couple lands just under the line in most of these counties, the Marketplace wins.
The honest caution matters more at 60 than at any other age. Private plans are medically underwritten. The application asks about your health, and the carrier can decline you, raise the price, or exclude a condition. By the early sixties many people take a daily medication or have a history of high blood pressure, a joint problem, or a past cancer, and any of those can change the answer. Private plans are also not ACA coverage, are not sold on HealthCare.gov, and do not qualify for the tax credit. If you have an ongoing condition, the Marketplace, which must accept you at the standard rate and cannot exclude anything, is usually the better choice even at a higher premium.
Where private plans tend to fit: a healthy household above the 400% line, or someone retiring mid-year who wants coverage that starts quickly outside Open Enrollment. Ranges are starting points for healthy applicants, after the usual adjustment our advisors apply, and the final price depends on the health questions. Nothing here is a promise of what you will pay.
Timing the bridge to Medicare
- Leaving a job. Losing employer coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on the Marketplace, so you do not have to wait for November. COBRA is also available, usually at the full employer cost plus a small fee, and you cannot get a tax credit while you are enrolled in it.
- Estimating income. The credit is based on the income you expect for the calendar year, then reconciled on your tax return. A year with a large retirement payout or a home sale can push you over the line after the fact, and the credit may have to be repaid.
- Turning 65. Medicare eligibility generally ends your eligibility for the tax credit from the month Medicare can start. Plan to end Marketplace coverage when Medicare begins so you do not keep paying full price.
- A younger spouse. If one spouse reaches 65 first, the other still needs coverage, and their Marketplace credit is then based on a household of two with a one-person premium.
To see your own numbers at your age, in your county and at your expected income, try the tool with a ZIP code; it shows every Marketplace plan, your estimated credit and a private range side by side, with no health questions.
Questions people ask
How much is health insurance for a 62-year-old in 2026?
At full price, the cheapest Marketplace Bronze plan for a 62-year-old runs from about $842 a month in Harris County, Texas to $1,128 in Miami-Dade, Florida, with the silver benchmark between about $1,088 and $1,539 in the large counties we checked. With income under $62,600 for one person, the tax credit often brings Bronze below $200 a month and sometimes close to $0.
Can an early retiree with savings but low income get a tax credit?
Usually, yes. The credit looks at income, not assets. A retiree living on savings or qualified Roth withdrawals may have low countable income and a large credit, though income below 100% of the poverty level, or below 138% in Medicaid-expansion states, follows different rules. Confirm with your tax professional how your withdrawals will be counted.
Is a private plan a good idea at 60?
For a healthy 60-year-old above the 400% line, a private plan typically costs less than a full-price Bronze plan and may have a lower deductible. For anyone with an ongoing condition, or with income low enough for a meaningful credit, the Marketplace is usually the better answer, because private plans can decline or exclude conditions and are not ACA coverage.
Sources: CMS QHP Landscape PY2026 Individual Medical file (data.healthcare.gov, snapshot August 4, 2026) for every Marketplace premium and benchmark; HHS 2025 poverty guidelines (90 FR 5917) and IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-25 for the credit maths; carrier rate tables used by our advisors for private ranges. Figures are monthly, non-tobacco, before any credit unless stated, and can change before Open Enrollment. Tax rules summarised here are general; confirm with your tax professional.