Ranked 5 of 15 states · median $687/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old interior designer 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 counties covered, Wisconsin ranks 10 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: Lifting strain; jobsite exposure during installs.
This is background for choosing a plan, not for pricing one. Since 2014 every Wisconsin 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, so a interior designer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Lincoln | $623 | Aspirus | $6,000 | 3 |
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 — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 72 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 1 (1%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO |
| PPO available on exchange | Yes |
| Carriers filing in the state | 12 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $526 — Calumet |
Wisconsin has PPO plans available. For a interior designer covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 1 of 72 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. 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
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.
If you file a Schedule C as a interior designer, the categories that usually show up are: Samples, software, vehicle, 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 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.
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 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 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 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 Wisconsin 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 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 Interior Designers 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.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Wisconsin 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.
PPO availability is patchy here: 15 of 72 Wisconsin counties. For Interior Designers 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:
Coverage for Interior Designers is priced county by county across Wisconsin. Enter your ZIP and I will show you what is on the table.