Ranked 10 of 17 states · median $773/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old photographer in Tennessee pays a median $773/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 10th of 17 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $646 from Ambetter of Tennessee in Fayette. On counties covered, Tennessee ranks 4 of 17 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: Heavy gear lifting; repetitive strain; location travel.
This is background for choosing a plan, not for pricing one. Since 2014 every Tennessee 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 photographer or an accountant. Occupation changes the shopping criteria, nothing else.
Premium is set by rating area, so a photographer in one Tennessee 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knox | $669 | Ambetter of Tennessee | $6,000 | 4 |
| Union | $669 | Ambetter of Tennessee | $6,000 | 4 |
| Unicoi | $678 | BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee | $8,100 | 4 |
| Marion | $698 | Ambetter of Tennessee | $6,000 | 5 |
| Carroll | $701 | BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee | $8,100 | 5 |
| Hardin | $701 | BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee | $8,100 | 5 |
The spread across just these six is $32/month — $385 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $646 to $1,001. Coverage by County publishes all 95 Tennessee counties individually.
| Tennessee — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 95 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 0 (0%) |
| Plan types available | EPO |
| PPO available on exchange | No |
| Carriers filing in the state | 6 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $646 — Fayette |
Tennessee has no PPO plans on the exchange at all. For a photographer covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 0 of 95 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. 5,239 plan records across 95 Tennessee counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: South Dakota ($725), Oklahoma ($731), Kansas ($765). More expensive: Mississippi ($773), Florida ($789), Utah ($805).
Side-by-side: Tennessee vs Oklahoma · Tennessee vs Kansas · Tennessee vs Mississippi · Tennessee vs Florida
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a photographer who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Camera bodies, lenses, editing software, studio, travel. 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 BLS median wage for Photographers in Tennessee is $36,000 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $27,520. The middle half earn $30,000 to $46,650, and the top 10% more than $64,220. BLS counts about 1,090 people doing this work for an employer in Tennessee. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in Tennessee is $646 per month from Ambetter of Tennessee, with a state median of $773. 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.
No. Only EPO plans were filed for 2026.
Tennessee ranks 10 of 17 states covered here, at a median $773 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 2027.
This occupation is below the cliff in all 22 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Photographers (SOC 27-4021) in Tennessee. 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 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.
This page compares states. For Tennessee specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Photographers in Tennessee and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Tennessee loses a carrier this cycle: Cigna is out of the ACA individual market from January 1, 2027, leaving 5 filing here. For Photographers that is a forced decision, and a better one made in November than in January.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Tennessee 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.
The window opens November 1, 2026, and December 15 is the date worth writing down — it is what secures January 1 cover in Tennessee and everywhere else. You will find later dates quoted; they stem from a 2025 rule that was vacated in June 2026 and is under appeal.
There is still no PPO on the Tennessee marketplace — not in any of its 95 counties. Every plan is an EPO, which for a photographer working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
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 now than in the second week of December.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
Rates for Photographers in Tennessee are set by county, not by occupation. Start with your ZIP and a licensed agent will show you the plans actually filed where you live.
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