Ranked 2 of 15 states · median $625/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old hvac contractor in Ohio pays a median $625/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 2th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $482 from Oscar Health Insurance in Butler. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, Ohio ranks 9 of 15 for this occupation.
Trade work concentrates cost into rare, expensive events rather than spreading it across the year. That inverts the usual shopping logic: a lower premium with a $9,200 ceiling is a worse deal than a higher premium with a $6,000 one, because the ceiling is what you actually hit. These rankings follow the ceiling.
Occupational context: Refrigerant exposure; heat stress; attic and roof falls.
Worth being clear about what this does and does not affect: a carrier in Ohio cannot ask what you do for a living, cannot charge a hvac contractor 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 hvac contractor in one Ohio 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geauga | $489 | Molina Healthcare | $7,000 | 7 |
| Clermont | $495 | Oscar Health Insurance | $6,000 | 8 |
| Seneca | $497 | Molina Healthcare | $7,000 | 7 |
| Adams | $512 | Molina Healthcare | $7,000 | 6 |
| Harrison | $523 | Ambetter from Buckeye | $6,000 | 6 |
| Champaign | $526 | Antidote Health Plan of Ohio | $7,500 | 8 |
The spread across just these six is $36/month — $436 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $482 to $924. Coverage by County publishes all 88 Ohio counties individually.
| Ohio — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $5,500 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $482 — Oscar Health Insurance |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $482 — Oscar Health Insurance |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $674 |
For a hvac contractor, the gap between $5,500 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. 9,038 plan records across 88 Ohio counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Indiana ($558). More expensive: South Carolina ($636), Alabama ($680), Wisconsin ($687).
Side-by-side: Ohio vs Indiana · Ohio vs South Carolina · Ohio vs Alabama
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether Ohio is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a hvac contractor weighing a relocation for other reasons, the premium difference is a real line item worth putting in the decision.
If you file a Schedule C as a hvac contractor, the categories that usually show up are: Tools, van, EPA certification, liability insurance. The health premium itself is normally an above-the-line deduction under IRC §162(l), which reduces AGI rather than requiring you to itemize. Your CPA should confirm it against your actual situation.
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 Ohio is $482 per month from Oscar Health Insurance, with a state median of $625. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
No. Ohio exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a hvac contractor 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 HMO plans were filed for 2026.
Ohio ranks 2 of 15 states covered here, at a median $625 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 2026.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 3 of the 21 states reported and below it in the other 18, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (SOC 49-9021) in Ohio. 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 hvac contractor. 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 Ohio specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for HVAC Contractors in Ohio and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
The Ohio market currently runs to 11 carriers over 88 counties. Carriers re-file every year, and for HVAC Contractors the question that actually decides your renewal is which of them are still there in November.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Ohio 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.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Ohio 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.
There is still no PPO on the Ohio marketplace — not in any of its 88 counties. Every plan is an HMO, EPO or POS, which for a hvac contractor working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
Because Ohio sells no PPO in any of its 88 counties, the thing that will decide your 2027 experience is which network your providers sit in — and that is far easier to check now than during the rush.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Most HVAC Contractors 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 Ohio.