Ranked 1 of 17 states · median $558/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old carpenter in Indiana pays a median $558/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — the cheapest of the states covered here. The cheapest plan in the state is $440 from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Daviess. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, Indiana ranks 4 of 17 for this occupation.
Injury exposure means the number that matters is the out-of-pocket maximum, not the premium. A single ER visit and follow-up can hit that ceiling in one month, so these pages rank states by worst-case annual exposure rather than by monthly cost.
Occupational context: Saw and nail-gun injuries; hearing loss; back strain from lifting.
Worth being clear about what this does and does not affect: a carrier in Indiana cannot ask what you do for a living, cannot charge a carpenter more than a librarian of the same age in the same ZIP, and cannot exclude anything you were already treated for. Occupation only tells you which plan structure to shop for.
Premium is set by rating area, so a carpenter in one Indiana county can pay materially more than one an hour away. Six counties from across the state, cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old:
| County | Cheapest Silver @40 | Issuer | Deductible | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion | $469 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 4 |
| Rush | $474 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Crawford | $482 | Ambetter Health | $6,000 | 2 |
| Lake | $492 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Clay | $497 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Dekalb | $509 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $40/month — $475 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $440 to $699. Coverage by County publishes all 92 Indiana counties individually.
| Indiana — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $4,700 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $570 — Ambetter Health |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $440 — Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $615 |
For a carpenter, the gap between $4,700 and $10,600 in annual out-of-pocket maximum is worth more than any premium difference on this page. One serious injury reaches that ceiling regardless of which plan you picked.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 4,429 plan records across 92 Indiana counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Nothing on this list is cheaper. More expensive: Ohio ($625), South Carolina ($636), Alabama ($680).
Side-by-side: Indiana vs Ohio · Indiana vs South Carolina
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a carpenter who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Tools, truck, lumber, jobsite travel, liability insurance. Premiums are generally deductible above the line under IRC §162(l) when no employer plan is available to you or your spouse — a question for your CPA, not your agent.
If your household income is above the subsidy range, ACA is not automatically the answer. There are other categories of coverage that may fit, and they work very differently. That is a conversation, not a web page.
The BLS median wage for Carpenters in Indiana is $60,510 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $39,230. The middle half earn $48,050 to $73,660, and the top 10% more than $86,220. BLS counts about 15,200 people doing this work for an employer in Indiana. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in Indiana is $440 per month from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, with a state median of $558. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
No. Indiana exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a carpenter pays exactly what anyone else of the same age in the same ZIP pays. Occupation is not on the application as a rating factor.
No. Only EPO and HMO and POS plans were filed for 2026.
Indiana ranks 1 of 17 states covered here, at a median $558 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 1 of the 23 states reported and below it in the other 22, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Carpenters (SOC 47-2031) in Indiana. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed carpenter. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.
Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.
This page compares states. For Indiana specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Carpenters in Indiana and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Indiana loses a carrier this cycle: Cigna is out of the ACA individual market from January 1, 2027, leaving 4 filing here. For Carpenters that is a forced decision, and a better one made in November than in January.
Indiana has signed off on 2027: insurers were approved for an average 17.1% increase, against a national median near 15%. Your own premium will not show until 2027 plans post in late October, and it turns on your plan and county.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Indiana included. Conflicting end dates get quoted because a 2025 rule shortened the window and a court vacated it in June 2026, appeal pending — enrol by the 15th and the argument is irrelevant to you.
One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Indiana. All 92 counties offer HMO, EPO or POS only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as a carpenter crosses county lines, weigh that above the premium.
You already know you are changing plans — Cigna is leaving. The only real question is whether you pick the replacement or the marketplace picks it for you, and that is a much easier decision made now than in the second week of December.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
Most Carpenters here are buying their own coverage without an employer. One ZIP is all I need to show you what is available in your part of Indiana.
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