Ranked 14 of 15 states · median $828/mo · CMS PY2026
Prefer to talk? Call (713) 575-9904
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 23 States
A 40-year-old interior designer in Arkansas pays a median $828/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 14th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $753 from Octave in Arkansas. On counties covered, Arkansas ranks 9 of 15 for this occupation.
Coverage that only works where you sleep is not coverage if you spend the week elsewhere. The binding question is whether the plan pays out of area at all, and beyond emergencies many HMOs simply do not. States below are ordered by network reach, with the no-PPO states flagged.
Occupational context: Lifting strain; jobsite exposure during installs.
This is background for choosing a plan, not for pricing one. Since 2014 every Arkansas exchange plan has been guaranteed issue and community rated: same age, same ZIP, same tobacco status means the same filed premium whether you are a interior designer or an accountant. Occupation changes the shopping criteria, nothing else.
Premium is set by rating area rather than by county, so counties in the same area price identically. Six counties from across Arkansas, cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old:
| County | Cheapest Silver @40 | Issuer | Deductible | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | $753 | Octave | $6,000 | 4 |
| Dallas | $753 | Octave | $6,000 | 4 |
| Grant | $753 | Octave | $6,000 | 4 |
| Jackson | $753 | Octave | $6,000 | 4 |
| Little River | $753 | Octave | $6,000 | 4 |
| Monroe | $753 | Octave | $6,000 | 4 |
All six fall in the same rating area, so they price identically at $753. Statewide the range still runs $753 to $879. Coverage by County publishes all 75 Arkansas counties individually.
| Arkansas — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 75 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 0 (0%) |
| Plan types available | POS, PPO |
| PPO available on exchange | Yes |
| Carriers filing in the state | 4 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $753 — Arkansas |
Arkansas has PPO plans available. For a interior designer covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 0 of 75 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. 3,900 plan records across 75 Arkansas counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Utah ($805), Texas ($807), North Carolina ($828). More expensive: Nebraska ($875).
Side-by-side: Arkansas vs Texas · Arkansas vs North Carolina · Arkansas vs Nebraska
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a interior designer who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Samples, software, vehicle, liability insurance. Note the ordering problem with health premiums: the §162(l) deduction lowers your AGI, and your AGI is what sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other. That is a CPA conversation and worth having before you enroll, not after.
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 Arkansas is $753 per month from Octave, with a state median of $828. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in Arkansas 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.
Yes. Plan types filed for 2026: POS, PPO.
Arkansas ranks 14 of 15 states covered here, at a median $828 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 sits above the cliff in 7 of the 21 states reported and below it in the other 14, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Interior Designers (SOC 27-1025) in Arkansas. 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 interior designer. 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 Arkansas specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Interior Designers in Arkansas and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Arkansas has 4 carriers filing across 75 counties right now. That list is rebuilt every year, so what you can choose from in November may not match what you see today — and for an interior designer buying your own cover, who stays matters more than the headline rate.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Arkansas 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.
Mark November 1, 2026 to open and December 15 to act. That second date guarantees cover from January 1 in Arkansas regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.
All 75 counties in Arkansas sell a PPO, which is unusual and useful. For an interior designer covering ground, it is the plan type that travels best.
Nothing about 2027 is urgent yet, which is exactly why it is worth ten minutes now. Come November you will be choosing between Arkansas’s carriers under a deadline; today you can do it without one.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Most Interior Designers 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 Arkansas.