Ranked 5 of 15 states · median $687/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old photographer in Wisconsin pays a median $687/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 5th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $526 from Network Health in Calumet. On counties covered, Wisconsin ranks 10 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.
This is background for choosing a plan, not for pricing one. Since 2014 every Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark | $673 | Security | $6,000 | 4 |
| Iron | $687 | Security | $6,000 | 2 |
| Ashland | $774 | Security | $6,000 | 3 |
| Brown | $541 | CareSource (Common Ground Healthcare) | $5,000 | 5 |
| Dane | $543 | Group Health Cooperative-SCW | $6,000 | 3 |
| Sheboygan | $573 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $6,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $233/month — $2,795 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $526 to $1,062. Coverage by County publishes all 72 Wisconsin counties individually.
| Wisconsin — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 72 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 1 (1%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO |
| PPO available on exchange | Yes |
| Carriers filing in the state | 12 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $526 — Calumet |
Wisconsin has PPO plans available. For a photographer covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 1 of 72 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. 2,651 plan records across 72 Wisconsin counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Ohio ($625), South Carolina ($636), Alabama ($680). More expensive: Michigan ($708), South Dakota ($725), Oklahoma ($731).
Side-by-side: Wisconsin vs South Carolina · Wisconsin vs Alabama · Wisconsin vs Michigan · Wisconsin vs South Dakota
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.
Self-employed Photographers in Wisconsin typically deduct: Camera bodies, lenses, editing software, studio, travel. Health premiums sit separately, above the line under IRC §162(l), and only when neither you nor a spouse could have joined an employer plan — eligibility disqualifies you even if you declined the coverage.
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 Wisconsin is $526 per month from Network Health, with a state median of $687. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
No. Wisconsin exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a photographer pays exactly what anyone else of the same age in the same ZIP pays. Occupation is not on the application as a rating factor.
Yes. Plan types filed for 2026: EPO, HMO, POS, PPO.
Wisconsin ranks 5 of 15 states covered here, at a median $687 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 Wisconsin. 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 Wisconsin specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Photographers in Wisconsin and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Wisconsin has 12 carriers filing across 72 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.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.
Check before renewing: PPOs are sold in 15 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, not all. Whether yours has one decides how much out-of-network care is covered — usually a bigger question for Photographers than the monthly figure.
Nothing about 2027 is urgent yet, which is exactly why it is worth ten minutes now. Come November you will be choosing between Wisconsin’s carriers under a deadline; today you can do it without one.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
There is no single Wisconsin price. Enter your ZIP and I will pull what is filed in your county, then work out what help you qualify for.