Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Utah is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $805/month for the median Silver plan, versus $875 — a difference of $70/month (9%) before subsidies.
| Utah | Nebraska | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $805 | $875 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $559 | $640 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,125 | $1,460 |
| Age 27 | $526 | $525 |
| Age 60 | $1,134 | $1,359 |
| Carriers | 6 | 5 |
| Counties | 29 | 93 |
| 1-carrier counties | 1 | 0 |
| Plan types | EPO, HMO | EPO, PPO |
Network note: Utah has no PPO plans in 2026 while Nebraska 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: Utah or Nebraska. There is also a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment periods.
Put your ZIP code in and I 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 me — not a call center.
Relocating between Utah and Nebraska counts as a qualifying life event. That buys a 60-day special enrollment period, dated from the move, to choose among Nebraska’s 5 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 Utah policy ends and a Nebraska application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
The carrier lists do not intersect — 6 in Utah, 5 in Nebraska, none shared. Expect to start a relationship with a new insurer, likely one of Ambetter Health and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska.
This is the asymmetry that bites. Nebraska has PPO plans across 34 of 93 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 Nebraska 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 Utah and another in Nebraska. The cost lands on care received in whichever of the two you did not choose.
State averages hide enormous county-level spread. Whichever of Utah or Nebraska you are in, your ZIP is what sets your premium.