Ranked 1 of 17 states · median $558/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old social media manager in Indiana pays a median $558/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — the cheapest of the states covered here. The cheapest plan in the state is $440 from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Daviess. On cheapest Silver at age 27, Indiana ranks 2 of 17 for this occupation.
Screen-based work skews younger and healthier, which is exactly the profile a high-deductible plan is built for. The risk is real — you carry the first several thousand dollars yourself — so the tables below show what a healthy buyer pays across the age curve, not just at 40.
Occupational context: Repetitive stress; eye strain; always-on schedule.
None of that changes your price. ACA plans in Indiana are community rated — premium varies by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size only. Your occupation cannot be used to rate you, decline you, or exclude a condition. What it changes is which plan design is the right bet.
Premium is set by rating area, so a social media manager in one Indiana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange | $440 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| St. Joseph | $452 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Tippecanoe | $454 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Fayette | $457 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Jasper | $460 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Warrick | $463 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 4 |
The spread across just these six is $23/month — $278 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $440 to $699. Coverage by County publishes all 92 Indiana counties individually.
| Indiana — the age curve | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Cheapest Silver @27 | $361 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $440 |
| Cheapest Silver @60 | $934 |
| Cheapest Bronze @40 | $376 — Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield |
| Bronze deductible | $10,150 |
| Lowest deductible in state | $1,450 |
A 27-year-old social media manager in Indiana starts at $361; the same plan class at 60 starts at $934 — roughly 2.6× as much. If a Bronze plan here is HSA-qualified, the deduction plus low claim volume usually beats Silver on total annual cost. Confirm HSA eligibility on the plan document, not the metal tier.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 4,429 plan records across 92 Indiana counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Nothing on this list is cheaper. More expensive: Ohio ($625), South Carolina ($636), Alabama ($680).
Side-by-side: Indiana vs Ohio · Indiana vs South Carolina
Cross-state numbers are useful for understanding whether Indiana is treating you well, not for arbitrage. You cannot buy an out-of-state exchange plan. If you are a social media manager 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: Software, scheduling tools, hardware, home office. 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 BLS median wage for Public Relations Specialists in Indiana is $61,110 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $37,740. The middle half earn $46,570 to $79,890, and the top 10% more than $104,170. BLS counts about 4,080 people doing this work for an employer in Indiana. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in Indiana is $440 per month from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, with a state median of $558. 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.
Indiana ranks 1 of 17 states covered here, at a median $558 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 2027.
This occupation sits above the cliff in 9 of the 23 states reported and below it in the other 14, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Public Relations Specialists (SOC 27-3031) in Indiana. 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 social media manager. 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 Indiana specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Social Media Managers in Indiana and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
One of Indiana’s 5 carriers is leaving. Cigna exits the individual market entirely on January 1, 2027, so if you are a social media manager covered by them the question is not whether you switch but whether you choose the switch yourself.
Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. Indiana’s are final: insurers there were approved for an average 17.1% increase. Your own premium shows when 2027 plans post in late October.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Indiana 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 Indiana. All 92 counties offer HMO, EPO or POS only, so care outside the network is effectively emergency-only. If your work as a social media manager 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 now than in the second week of December.
Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:
The sticker price is rarely what Social Media Managers in Indiana end up paying. Start with a ZIP and a licensed agent will work out your actual number.
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