Ranked 11 of 15 states · median $805/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old photographer in Utah pays a median $805/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 11th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $559 from Select Health in Davis. On counties covered, Utah ranks 15 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: 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 — Utah 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 Utah 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millard | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 2 |
| Iron | $885 | Select Health | $6,000 | 3 |
| Utah | $576 | Select Health | $5,900 | 5 |
| Carbon | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 4 |
| Kane | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 2 |
| Wayne | $798 | Select Health | $6,000 | 2 |
The spread across just these six is $309/month — $3,704 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $559 to $1,125. Coverage by County publishes all 29 Utah counties individually.
| Utah — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 29 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 1 (3%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO |
| PPO available on exchange | No |
| Carriers filing in the state | 6 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $559 — Davis |
Utah has no PPO plans on the exchange at all. For a photographer covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 1 of 29 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. 699 plan records across 29 Utah counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Oklahoma ($731), Kansas ($765), Florida ($789). More expensive: Texas ($807), North Carolina ($828), Arkansas ($828).
Side-by-side: Utah vs Kansas · Utah vs Florida · Utah vs Texas · Utah vs North Carolina
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A photographer living in Utah and working across a state line still buys Utah plans. A genuine permanent move does trigger a special enrollment period, but the plan year restarts with a fresh deductible.
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 cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in Utah is $559 per month from Select Health, with a state median of $805. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in Utah 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 EPO and HMO plans were filed for 2026.
Utah ranks 11 of 15 states covered here, at a median $805 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 Utah. 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 Utah specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Photographers in Utah and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Right now 6 carriers file plans across the 29 counties of Utah. Participation is reset annually, which is why Photographers should check the roster in November rather than assume this year’s options carry over.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Utah 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 Utah 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 Utah marketplace — not in any of its 29 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 Utah sells no PPO in any of its 29 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:
Most Photographers 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 Utah.