Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Alabama is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $680/month for the median Silver plan, versus $805 — a difference of $125/month (18%) before subsidies.
| Alabama | Utah | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $680 | $805 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $583 | $559 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,124 | $1,125 |
| Age 27 | $478 | $526 |
| Age 60 | $1,238 | $1,134 |
| Carriers | 4 | 6 |
| Counties | 67 | 29 |
| 1-carrier counties | 7 | 1 |
| Plan types | EPO, PPO | EPO, HMO |
Network note: Utah has no PPO plans in 2026 while Alabama does.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits; not a quote or an offer of coverage.
This page sets two states against each other. For county-by-county carriers, plan data and help actually enrolling, I publish a page for each state on Coverage by County: Alabama or Utah. There is also a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment periods.
Change the age or income and both states recalculate: the 2027 marketplace price after any tax credit, and the private plan estimate.
| Monthly, age 45, $85,000 | Alabama | Utah |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $880 | $777 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $880 | $777 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $350–$470 | $260–$435 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $1,236 a year more in Alabama than in Utah, at full price in both, since that income is over the tax-credit line.
2027 estimates: KFF 2026 benchmark raised by each state’s average 2027 change, on the federal age curve; 2027 tax credit rules. Your county will differ. Every state at once: what you would pay in each state.
Put your ZIP code in and a licensed agent will show you the carriers filing in your county, what the cheapest plan costs, and what you would actually pay after any help you qualify for. No cost, and you talk to a licensed agent — not a call center.
Relocating between Alabama and Utah counts as a qualifying life event. That buys a 60-day special enrollment period, dated from the move, to choose among Utah’s 6 filing carriers. Two conditions apply: at least one day of qualifying coverage during the 60 days beforehand, and the move cannot be purely for medical treatment or a holiday.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the Alabama policy ends and a Utah application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
The carrier lists do not intersect — 4 in Alabama, 6 in Utah, none shared. Expect to start a relationship with a new insurer, likely one of BridgeSpan Health Company and Imperial Health Plan of the Southwest, Inc..
This is the asymmetry that bites. Alabama has PPO plans across all 67 counties; Utah sells none in any of its 29. The PPO is the plan type most likely to pay outside its own network, so heading toward Utah usually costs you the ability to see Alabama providers for anything short of an emergency.
Splitting the year does not mean splitting the coverage. You can hold a marketplace plan only in your state of primary residence — the address you file from — not one in Alabama and another in Utah. The cost lands on care received in whichever of the two you did not choose.
Neither Alabama nor Utah has one price. Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will pull the plans in that county and work out what help you qualify for.
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