Ranked 1 of 15 states · median $558/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old consultant 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 counties covered, Indiana ranks 5 of 15 for this occupation.
Work that crosses county and state lines makes network geography the binding constraint. A cheap HMO that only contracts in one metro is worthless 200 miles away, so these pages rank states by network reach and flag the ones with no PPO on the exchange at all.
Occupational context: Travel fatigue; sedentary and irregular-schedule strain.
Two things get confused here constantly. Risk exposure decides what coverage you should buy. It does not decide what you are charged — Indiana carriers rate on age, ZIP, tobacco and family size, full stop. A consultant with a bad back and a healthy 40-year-old office worker in the same county see the same number.
Premium is set by rating area, so a consultant 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steuben | $509 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Knox | $440 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Kosciusko | $452 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Montgomery | $454 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Jay | $457 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Wayne | $457 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $69/month — $824 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $440 to $699. Coverage by County publishes all 92 Indiana counties individually.
| Indiana — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 92 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 0 (0%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO, POS |
| PPO available on exchange | No |
| Carriers filing in the state | 5 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $440 — Daviess |
Indiana has no PPO plans on the exchange at all. For a consultant covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 0 of 92 counties here are served by one carrier, so an HMO bought in one metro may leave you out of network for the rest of your route.
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 consultant 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: Travel, home office, software, professional development. 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 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.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in Indiana uses four inputs only: age, ZIP code, tobacco use and how many people are on the policy. Trade, injury history and pre-existing conditions are all excluded from pricing by law.
No. Only EPO and HMO and POS plans were filed for 2026.
Indiana ranks 1 of 15 states covered here, at a median $558 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
Above the cliff. At this income a single-person household receives no premium tax credit for 2026 and pays the full premium.
This occupation is above the cliff in all 19 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Management Analysts (SOC 13-1111) 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 consultant. 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 2026 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $62,600 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 Consultants 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 Consultants that is a forced decision, and a better one made in November than in January.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Indiana premium yet. Filings nationally cluster around a 15% median increase, with the full spread running −1% to 54% — and until this state signs off, a specific local number is invention.
The window opens November 1, 2026, and December 15 is the date worth writing down — it is what secures January 1 cover in Indiana and everywhere else. You will find later dates quoted; they stem from a 2025 rule that was vacated in June 2026 and is under appeal.
There is still no PPO on the Indiana marketplace — not in any of its 92 counties. Every plan is an HMO, EPO or POS, which for a consultant working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
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 in August than in the second week of December.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Most Consultants 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.