Ranked 1 of 15 states · median $558/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old painter 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 highest out-of-pocket maximum, Indiana ranks 4 of 15 for this occupation.
Injury exposure means the number that matters is the out-of-pocket maximum, not the premium. A single ER visit and follow-up can hit that ceiling in one month, so these pages rank states by worst-case annual exposure rather than by monthly cost.
Occupational context: Solvent and VOC inhalation; ladder falls; shoulder strain.
None of that changes your price. ACA plans in Indiana are community rated — premium varies by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size only. Your occupation cannot be used to rate you, decline you, or exclude a condition. What it changes is which plan design is the right bet.
Premium is set by rating area, so a painter 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaPorte | $492 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Pulaski | $493 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Adams | $509 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Wells | $509 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Orange | $440 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| St. Joseph | $452 | 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 — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $4,700 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $570 — Ambetter Health |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $440 — Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $615 |
For a painter, the gap between $4,700 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. 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
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether Indiana is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a painter 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 painter, the categories that usually show up are: Sprayers, ladders, paint, van, 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 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.
No. Indiana exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a painter 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 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.
Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2026.
This occupation is below the cliff in all 21 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Painters, Construction and Maintenance (SOC 47-2141) 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 painter. 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 Painters in Indiana and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
The biggest change here is a carrier walking away. Cigna leaves the ACA individual market on January 1, 2027 — one of the 5 carriers writing in Indiana today. Every a painter on a Cigna plan is moving, and doing nothing just means the marketplace chooses the replacement.
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.
Mark November 1, 2026 to open and December 15 to act. That second date guarantees cover from January 1 in Indiana regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.
One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Indiana. All 92 counties offer HMO, EPO or POS only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as a painter crosses county lines, weigh that above the premium.
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 Painters 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.