Ranked 12 of 15 states · median $807/mo · CMS PY2026
Prefer to talk? Call (713) 575-9904
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 23 States
A 40-year-old painter in Texas pays a median $807/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 12th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $540 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas in Cameron. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, Texas ranks 13 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: Solvent and VOC inhalation; ladder falls; shoulder strain.
Worth being clear about what this does and does not affect: a carrier in Texas cannot ask what you do for a living, cannot charge a painter 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 painter in one Texas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glasscock | $690 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas | $4,000 | 3 |
| Upton | $690 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas | $4,000 | 3 |
| Polk | $695 | Community Health Choice | $6,000 | 3 |
| Gonzales | $700 | UnitedHealthcare | $6,000 | 4 |
| Val Verde | $700 | UnitedHealthcare | $6,000 | 3 |
| Hopkins | $705 | CHRISTUS | $6,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $15/month — $181 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $540 to $1,409. Coverage by County publishes all 254 Texas counties individually.
| Texas — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $5,000 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $467 — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas |
| Gold deductible | $500 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $540 — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $754 |
For a painter, the gap between $5,000 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. 13,013 plan records across 254 Texas counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Kansas ($765), Florida ($789), Utah ($805). More expensive: North Carolina ($828), Arkansas ($828), Nebraska ($875).
Side-by-side: Texas vs Florida · Texas vs Utah · Texas vs North Carolina · Texas vs Arkansas
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A painter living in Texas and working across a state line still buys Texas plans. A genuine permanent move does trigger a special enrollment period, but the plan year restarts with a fresh deductible.
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 Texas is $540 per month from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, with a state median of $807. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
No. Texas 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.
Texas ranks 12 of 15 states covered here, at a median $807 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 Texas. 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 Texas specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Painters in Texas and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
One of Texas’s 15 carriers is leaving. Cigna exits the individual market entirely on January 1, 2027, so if you are a painter covered by them the question is not whether you switch but whether you choose the switch yourself.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Texas 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, Texas 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.
One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Texas. All 254 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:
Two Painters on opposite sides of Texas can be quoted very different premiums for the same plan. Your ZIP is what decides it.