Ranked 12 of 15 states · median $807/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old private tutor in Texas pays a median $807/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 12th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $540 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas in Cameron. On counties covered, Texas ranks 1 of 15 for this occupation.
Once your work crosses county and state lines, network geography stops being a detail and becomes the whole decision. An HMO contracted in one metro leaves you paying cash 200 miles down the road, and a handful of states filed no PPO at all for 2026. These rankings lead with reach.
Occupational context: Sedentary strain; travel between client homes.
Worth being clear about what this does and does not affect: a carrier in Texas cannot ask what you do for a living, cannot charge a private tutor more than a librarian of the same age in the same ZIP, and cannot exclude anything you were already treated for. Occupation only tells you which plan structure to shop for.
Premium is set by rating area, so a private tutor in one Texas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calhoun | $786 | Ambetter from Superior HealthPlan | $6,000 | 3 |
| Briscoe | $796 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas | $4,000 | 3 |
| Moore | $796 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas | $4,000 | 3 |
| Bailey | $816 | UnitedHealthcare | $6,000 | 2 |
| Fisher | $894 | Ambetter from Superior HealthPlan | $6,000 | 3 |
| Clay | $913 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas | $4,000 | 1 |
The spread across just these six is $126/month — $1,518 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $540 to $1,409. Coverage by County publishes all 254 Texas counties individually.
| Texas — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 254 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 7 (3%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO, POS |
| PPO available on exchange | No |
| Carriers filing in the state | 15 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $540 — Cameron |
Texas has no PPO plans on the exchange at all. For a private tutor covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 7 of 254 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. 13,013 plan records across 254 Texas counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Kansas ($765), Florida ($789), Utah ($805). More expensive: North Carolina ($828), Arkansas ($828), Nebraska ($875).
Side-by-side: Texas vs Florida · Texas vs Utah · Texas vs North Carolina · Texas vs Arkansas
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether Texas is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a private tutor weighing a relocation for other reasons, the premium difference is a real line item worth putting in the decision.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Materials, vehicle mileage, background checks, software. 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 Texas is $540 per month from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, with a state median of $807. 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 and HMO and POS plans were filed for 2026.
Texas ranks 12 of 15 states covered here, at a median $807 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 21 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Tutors (SOC 25-3041) in Texas. 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 private tutor. 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 Texas specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Private Tutors in Texas and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
One of Texas’s 15 carriers is leaving. Cigna exits the individual market entirely on January 1, 2027, so if you are a private tutor covered by them the question is not whether you switch but whether you choose the switch yourself.
Nobody can tell you your 2027 Texas 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.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Texas 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.
One thing 2027 will not fix: no PPO is sold anywhere in Texas. All 254 counties offer HMO, EPO or POS only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as a private tutor crosses county lines, weigh that above the premium.
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 in August than in the second week of December.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Coverage for Private Tutors is priced county by county across Texas. Enter your ZIP and I will show you what is on the table.