Ranked 2 of 15 states · median $625/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old photographer 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 counties covered, Ohio ranks 6 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: Heavy gear lifting; repetitive strain; location travel.
Two things get confused here constantly. Risk exposure decides what coverage you should buy. It does not decide what you are charged — Ohio carriers rate on age, ZIP, tobacco and family size, full stop. A photographer with a bad back and a healthy 40-year-old office worker in the same county see the same number.
Premium is set by rating area, so a photographer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | $536 | Oscar Health Insurance | $6,000 | 7 |
| Hancock | $538 | Molina Healthcare | $7,000 | 5 |
| Holmes | $540 | Antidote Health Plan of Ohio | $7,500 | 6 |
| Scioto | $545 | Molina Healthcare | $7,000 | 5 |
| Tuscarawas | $603 | CareSource | $6,200 | 4 |
| Hamilton | $482 | Oscar Health Insurance | $6,000 | 8 |
The spread across just these six is $121/month — $1,449 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $482 to $924. Coverage by County publishes all 88 Ohio counties individually.
| Ohio — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 88 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 0 (0%) |
| Plan types available | HMO |
| PPO available on exchange | No |
| Carriers filing in the state | 11 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $482 — Butler |
Ohio has no PPO plans on the exchange at all. For a photographer covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 0 of 88 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. 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
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A photographer living in Ohio and working across a state line still buys Ohio 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 photographer, the categories that usually show up are: Camera bodies, lenses, editing software, studio, travel. 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.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in Ohio 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.
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 is below the cliff in all 20 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Photographers (SOC 27-4021) 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 photographer. 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 Photographers in Ohio and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Ohio has 11 carriers filing across 88 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 a photographer buying your own cover, who stays matters more than the headline rate.
Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. Ohio 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, 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 photographer 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:
There is no single Ohio price. Enter your ZIP and I will pull what is filed in your county, then work out what help you qualify for.