Benchmark $646/mo · +28.8% approved · Get Covered Illinois
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A 40-year-old plumber in Illinois faces a benchmark premium of $646/month for 2026, up from $474 in 2025. That is 3% above the national benchmark of $625. Carriers were approved for an average increase of +28.8%.
Illinois runs its own exchange, Get Covered Illinois, rather than healthcare.gov. CMS therefore excludes it from the Qualified Health Plan Landscape file that powers most of this site, so there is no public plan-by-county premium table for Illinois the way there is for Florida or Texas. What you get instead — approved rate changes, carrier concentration and the benchmark series — comes straight from state filings, and in some ways says more, because these are rates a regulator actually approved rather than rates an insurer filed.
Illinois launched its own exchange for plan year 2026, making it the most recent state to leave healthcare.gov. Several carriers revised filings upward after the initial submission: Celtic went from a requested 18.7% to an approved 38.6%.
| Illinois — 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Benchmark premium, age 40 (2026) | $646 |
| Benchmark premium, age 40 (2025) | $474 |
| Year-over-year change | +36.3% |
| Approved average rate increase | +28.8% |
| Versus the national benchmark ($625) | +3% |
| Rank among your 23 licensed states | 15 of 23 |
| Counties | 102 |
| Carriers on the exchange | 6 |
| Exchange | Get Covered Illinois (state-run since 2026) |
| Carrier | Network | Members | 2026 approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambetter (Celtic) | — | — | +38.6% |
| Molina Healthcare | — | — | +21.5% |
| UnitedHealthcare | — | — | +20.8% |
| Oscar | — | — | +10.4% |
Three carriers left the Illinois individual market for 2026 — Aetna, Health Alliance Medical Plans and Quartz Health — so the county-level choice set narrowed in much of the state.
Sources: Illinois Department of Insurance 2026 rate approvals, finalized September 8, 2025. KFF, “Marketplace Average Benchmark Premiums,” 2026. Benchmark is the second-lowest-cost Silver plan for a 40-year-old, weighted by plan selections.
Injury exposure makes the out-of-pocket maximum, not the premium, the number that decides a bad year.
Occupational context: Confined-space entry; sewage and biohazard exposure; back strain.
None of that changes your price. Plans in Illinois are community rated — premium varies by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size only. Occupation cannot be used to rate, decline or exclude you.
Ranked on the benchmark premium, the one measure published on the same basis for every state. Cheaper: North Carolina ($638), Utah ($640), Alabama ($645). More expensive: South Dakota ($655), Texas ($661), Mississippi ($662).
You buy where you live, not where you work, so treat this as context rather than a shopping list. A genuine move does open a special enrollment period.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Tools, van, licensing, materials, liability insurance. Health premiums are generally deductible above the line under IRC §162(l) when no employer plan is available to you or a spouse. The deduction lowers your AGI, and AGI sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other — worth raising with your CPA before you enroll rather than after.
The BLS median wage for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Illinois is $96,200 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $47,880. The middle half earn $63,710 to $116,180, and the top 10% more than $123,290. BLS counts about 18,730 people doing this work for an employer in Illinois. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.
6 carriers offer individual plans on Get Covered Illinois for 2026: Ambetter, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, MercyCare, Molina Healthcare, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare. Availability varies by county.
The 2026 benchmark premium in Illinois is $646 per month for a 40-year-old, up from $474 in 2025. That is full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
Carriers in Illinois were approved for an average increase of 28.8%. Filings across the country cited the expiry of the enhanced federal premium tax credits at the end of 2025, rising medical and drug costs, and expectations that healthier people would drop coverage.
No. Exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated. Price varies only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size. Occupation is not a rating factor.
No. Illinois runs its own exchange, Get Covered Illinois, state-operated since 2026. You enrolll there rather than on healthcare.gov.
Above the cliff. At this income a single-person household receives no premium tax credit for 2027 and pays the full premium.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 4 of the 23 states reported and below it in the other 19, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (SOC 47-2152) in Illinois. 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 plumber. 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 Illinois specifically — county-level carriers and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Plumbers in Illinois and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Because Illinois operates a state-based exchange, its 2027 data is published separately from the federal landscape files. If you are a plumber here, the national summaries are usually either late or simply wrong about this state.
Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. Illinois has finalised: insurers were approved for an average 14.0% increase for 2027. Your own premium still turns on your plan and county.
Mark November 1, 2026 to open and December 15 to act. That second date guarantees cover from January 1 in Illinois regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.
Illinois publishes its 2027 plan data on its own schedule rather than in the federal files, so the earlier you get a read on your options the less you are relying on national summaries that may not apply here.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
There is no single Illinois price. Enter your ZIP and a licensed agent will pull what is filed in your county, then work out what help you qualify for.
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