Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Ohio is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $625/month for the median Silver plan, versus $708 — a difference of $82/month (13%) before subsidies.
| Ohio | Michigan | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $625 | $708 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $482 | $385 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $924 | $1,048 |
| Age 27 | $395 | $316 |
| Age 60 | $1,023 | $818 |
| Carriers | 11 | 7 |
| Counties | 88 | 83 |
| 1-carrier counties | 0 | 0 |
| Plan types | HMO | EPO, HMO, PPO |
Network note: Ohio has no PPO plans in 2026 while Michigan does. If you work across county or state lines that difference matters more than the premium gap.
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: Ohio or Michigan. 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 | Ohio | Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $674 | $677 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $674 | $677 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $275–$435 | $350–$475 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $30 a year more in Michigan than in Ohio, 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.
You do not have to wait for the next open enrollment. A permanent move between these two opens a 60-day special enrollment period from the day you arrive, which is the window in which you would pick from the 7 carriers writing across Michigan’s 83 counties. Watch the fine print: qualifying coverage for at least one day in the preceding 60 is generally required, and a move for medical care or a vacation does not count.
Coverage does not port across the state line. Ending in Ohio and starting in Michigan is two separate transactions, and the plan you end up with in Michigan is priced on its own county, not on what you paid before.
Some continuity is possible: UnitedHealthcare file in both, out of 11 in Ohio and 7 in Michigan. Same company is easier paperwork, but it is a different plan on a different network at a different price.
This is the asymmetry that bites. Michigan has PPO plans across all 83 counties; Ohio sells none in any of its 88. The PPO is the plan type most likely to pay outside its own network, so heading toward Ohio usually costs you the ability to see Michigan 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 Ohio and another in Michigan. The cost lands on care received in whichever of the two you did not choose.
Picking between Ohio and Michigan on the headline number is a mistake. Enter your ZIP and a licensed agent will show you what is actually filed for you.
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