Ranked 15 of 15 states · median $875/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old roofer in Nebraska pays a median $875/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — the most expensive of the states covered here. The cheapest plan in the state is $640 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska in Burt. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, Nebraska ranks 8 of 15 for this occupation.
For work with real injury exposure the premium is the wrong headline number. What decides a bad year is the annual out-of-pocket maximum — the ceiling you stop paying at. A fall, a fracture, an imaging series and a course of physical therapy will reach that ceiling on any metal tier, so the states below are ordered by worst-case exposure.
Occupational context: One of the highest fall-fatality rates of any US trade; heat illness.
Two things get confused here constantly. Risk exposure decides what coverage you should buy. It does not decide what you are charged — Nebraska carriers rate on age, ZIP, tobacco and family size, full stop. A roofer 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 roofer in one Nebraska 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase | $826 | Ambetter Health | $6,000 | 5 |
| Garden | $826 | Ambetter Health | $6,000 | 5 |
| Lincoln | $826 | Ambetter Health | $6,000 | 5 |
| Sheridan | $826 | Ambetter Health | $6,000 | 5 |
| Saunders | $640 | Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska | $6,000 | 5 |
| Jefferson | $694 | Ambetter Health | $6,000 | 5 |
The spread across just these six is $186/month — $2,232 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $640 to $1,460. Coverage by County publishes all 93 Nebraska counties individually.
| Nebraska — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $5,500 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $685 — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $640 — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $895 |
For a roofer, the gap between $5,500 and $10,600 in annual out-of-pocket maximum is worth more than any premium difference on this page. One serious injury reaches that ceiling regardless of which plan you picked.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 5,902 plan records across 93 Nebraska counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Texas ($807), North Carolina ($828), Arkansas ($828).
Side-by-side: Nebraska vs North Carolina · Nebraska vs Arkansas
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether Nebraska is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a roofer weighing a relocation for other reasons, the premium difference is a real line item worth putting in the decision.
If you file a Schedule C as a roofer, the categories that usually show up are: Tools, truck, fall-protection gear, liability insurance. The health premium itself is normally an above-the-line deduction under IRC §162(l), which reduces AGI rather than requiring you to itemize. Your CPA should confirm it against your actual situation.
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 Nebraska is $640 per month from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, with a state median of $875. 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.
Yes. Plan types filed for 2026: EPO, PPO.
Nebraska ranks 15 of 15 states covered here, at a median $875 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 sits above the cliff in 1 of the 21 states reported and below it in the other 20, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Roofers (SOC 47-2181) in Nebraska. 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 roofer. 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 Nebraska specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Roofers in Nebraska and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Right now 5 carriers file plans across the 93 counties of Nebraska. Participation is reset annually, which is why Roofers should check the roster in November rather than assume this year’s options carry over.
Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. Nebraska has not finalised, so treat exact local 2027 pricing as unavailable rather than unknown.
Mark November 1, 2026 to open and December 15 to act. That second date guarantees cover from January 1 in Nebraska regardless of how the current litigation over the enrollment window resolves.
PPO availability is patchy here: 34 of 93 Nebraska counties. For Roofers the county you are rated in, not the state, decides whether out-of-area care is paid for.
Nothing about 2027 is urgent yet, which is exactly why it is worth ten minutes now. Come November you will be choosing between Nebraska’s carriers under a deadline; today you can do it without one.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
The sticker price is rarely what Roofers in Nebraska end up paying. Start with a ZIP and I will work out your actual number.