Ranked 5 of 15 states · median $687/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old freelance developer in Wisconsin pays a median $687/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 5th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $526 from Network Health in Calumet. On cheapest Silver at age 27, Wisconsin ranks 6 of 15 for this occupation.
Desk work usually means low claim volume, and low claim volume changes the math: a high-deductible plan paired with an HSA lets you fund the deductible with pre-tax dollars and keep whatever you do not spend. In most years that beats paying a Silver premium for benefits you never touch.
Occupational context: Repetitive stress injury; sedentary cardiovascular risk.
Worth being clear about what this does and does not affect: a carrier in Wisconsin cannot ask what you do for a living, cannot charge a freelance developer 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 freelance developer in one Wisconsin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | $687 | Security | $6,000 | 2 |
| Ashland | $774 | Security | $6,000 | 3 |
| Brown | $541 | CareSource (Common Ground Healthcare) | $5,000 | 5 |
| Dane | $543 | Group Health Cooperative-SCW | $6,000 | 3 |
| Sheboygan | $573 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $6,000 | 3 |
| Columbia | $579 | Aspirus | $6,000 | 4 |
The spread across just these six is $233/month — $2,795 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $526 to $1,062. Coverage by County publishes all 72 Wisconsin counties individually.
| Wisconsin — the age curve | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Cheapest Silver @27 | $431 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $526 |
| Cheapest Silver @60 | $1,116 |
| Cheapest Bronze @40 | $388 — MercyCare |
| Bronze deductible | $10,000 |
| Lowest deductible in state | $700 |
A 27-year-old freelance developer in Wisconsin starts at $431; the same plan class at 60 starts at $1,116 — roughly 2.6× as much. If a Bronze plan here is HSA-qualified, the deduction plus low claim volume usually beats Silver on total annual cost. Confirm HSA eligibility on the plan document, not the metal tier.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 2,651 plan records across 72 Wisconsin counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Ohio ($625), South Carolina ($636), Alabama ($680). More expensive: Michigan ($708), South Dakota ($725), Oklahoma ($731).
Side-by-side: Wisconsin vs South Carolina · Wisconsin vs Alabama · Wisconsin vs Michigan · Wisconsin vs South Dakota
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A freelance developer living in Wisconsin and working across a state line still buys Wisconsin plans. A genuine permanent move does trigger a special enrollment period, but the plan year restarts with a fresh deductible.
Self-employed Freelance Developers in Wisconsin typically deduct: Hardware, software, cloud hosting, home office. Health premiums sit separately, above the line under IRC §162(l), and only when neither you nor a spouse could have joined an employer plan — eligibility disqualifies you even if you declined the coverage.
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 Wisconsin is $526 per month from Network Health, with a state median of $687. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
No. Under the ACA, carriers cannot rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Rates vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size.
Yes. Plan types filed for 2026: EPO, HMO, POS, PPO.
Wisconsin ranks 5 of 15 states covered here, at a median $687 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 21 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Software Developers (SOC 15-1252) in Wisconsin. 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 freelance developer. 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 Wisconsin specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Freelance Developers in Wisconsin and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Right now 12 carriers file plans across the 72 counties of Wisconsin. Participation is reset annually, which is why Freelance Developers should check the roster in November rather than assume this year’s options carry over.
Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. Wisconsin has not finalised, so treat exact local 2027 pricing as unavailable rather than unknown.
The window opens November 1, 2026, and December 15 is the date worth writing down — it is what secures January 1 cover in Wisconsin 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.
PPO availability is patchy here: 15 of 72 Wisconsin counties. For Freelance Developers the county you are rated in, not the state, decides whether out-of-area care is paid for.
Nothing about 2027 is urgent yet, which is exactly why it is worth ten minutes now. Come November you will be choosing between Wisconsin’s carriers under a deadline; today you can do it without one.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Rates for Freelance Developers in Wisconsin are set by county, not by occupation. Start with your ZIP and I will show you the plans actually filed where you live.