Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Wisconsin is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $687/month for the median Silver plan, versus $828 — a difference of $141/month (21%) before subsidies.
| Wisconsin | Arkansas | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $687 | $828 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $526 | $753 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,062 | $879 |
| Age 27 | $431 | $617 |
| Age 60 | $1,116 | $1,599 |
| Carriers | 12 | 4 |
| Counties | 72 | 75 |
| 1-carrier counties | 1 | 0 |
| Plan types | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO | POS, PPO |
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: Wisconsin or Arkansas. 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.
Moving permanently from Wisconsin to Arkansas is a qualifying life event, so you get a 60-day special enrollment window counted from the move date — time enough to work through the 4 carriers filing in Arkansas without waiting for open enrollment. Two conditions trip people up: you generally need to have held qualifying coverage for at least one day in the 60 days before the move, and relocating purely for treatment or a holiday will not qualify.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the Wisconsin policy ends and a Arkansas application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
The carrier lists do not intersect — 12 in Wisconsin, 4 in Arkansas, none shared. Expect to start a relationship with a new insurer, likely one of Ambetter from Arkansas Health & Wellness and Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
PPO coverage is patchy: 15 of 72 Wisconsin counties and 75 of 75 in Arkansas. Because the PPO is the type most likely to pay out of network, whether one is sold in your particular county matters more here than either state average.
You cannot carry one plan in Wisconsin and a second in Arkansas. Eligibility follows primary residence, the address on your return, and everything received in the other state is normally out of network.
State averages hide enormous county-level spread. Whichever of Wisconsin or Arkansas you are in, your ZIP is what sets your premium.