Ranked 11 of 17 states · median $773/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old therapist in Mississippi pays a median $773/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 11th of 17 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $598 from Oscar Health Plan in DeSoto. On median Silver premium, Mississippi ranks 11 of 17 for this occupation.
Patient-facing and on-your-feet work produces steady, predictable claims — routine visits, refills, physical therapy, the occasional urgent care. That profile is decided by copay design and by whether your providers are in network, not by the sticker premium, so carrier count sits alongside cost below.
Occupational context: Emotional load and burnout; sedentary strain.
None of that changes your price. ACA plans in Mississippi 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 therapist in one Mississippi 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $684 | Ambetter from Magnolia Health | $6,000 | 3 |
| Copiah | $704 | Cigna Healthcare | $4,000 | 4 |
| Panola | $630 | Oscar Health Plan | $6,300 | 4 |
| Lee | $653 | Ambetter from Magnolia Health | $6,000 | 4 |
| Jackson | $655 | Cigna Healthcare | $4,000 | 4 |
| Perry | $661 | Ambetter from Magnolia Health | $6,000 | 4 |
The spread across just these six is $74/month — $890 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $598 to $913. Coverage by County publishes all 82 Mississippi counties individually.
| Mississippi — network and cost | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Median Silver premium @40 | $773 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $598 — Oscar Health Plan (DeSoto) |
| Most expensive Silver @40 | $913 |
| Carriers filing in the state | 5 — Ambetter from Magnolia Health, Cigna Healthcare, Molina Healthcare, Oscar Health Plan |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO |
| Counties with only one carrier | 0 of 82 |
Mississippi has 5 carriers filing and 0 of 82 counties served by a single issuer. For a therapist with an established provider relationship, that carrier count is the number that decides whether you keep your doctor.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 2,834 plan records across 82 Mississippi counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Oklahoma ($731), Kansas ($765), Tennessee ($773). More expensive: Florida ($789), Utah ($805), Texas ($807).
Side-by-side: Mississippi vs Kansas · Mississippi vs Tennessee · Mississippi vs Florida · Mississippi vs Utah
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a therapist who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Licensing, malpractice insurance, EHR software, supervision. 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 Marriage and Family Therapists in Mississippi is $51,260 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $49,520. The middle half earn $50,410 to $52,680, and the top 10% more than $58,550. BLS counts about 180 people doing this work for an employer in Mississippi. 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 Mississippi is $598 per month from Oscar Health Plan, with a state median of $773. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in Mississippi uses four inputs only: age, ZIP code, tobacco use and how many people are on the policy. Trade, injury history and pre-existing conditions are all excluded from pricing by law.
No. Only EPO and HMO plans were filed for 2026.
Mississippi ranks 11 of 17 states covered here, at a median $773 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 7 of the 22 states reported and below it in the other 15, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Marriage and Family Therapists (SOC 21-1013) in Mississippi. 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 therapist. 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 Mississippi specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Therapists in Mississippi and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Two of Mississippi’s 5 carriers are leaving. Cigna and Molina both exit Mississippi’s individual market on January 1, 2027, so if you are a therapist covered by either 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. Mississippi has not finalised, so treat exact local 2027 pricing as unavailable rather than unknown.
The window opens November 1, 2026, and December 15 is the date worth writing down — it is what secures January 1 cover in Mississippi and everywhere else. You will find later dates quoted; they stem from a 2025 rule that was vacated in June 2026 and is under appeal.
There is still no PPO on the Mississippi marketplace — not in any of its 82 counties. Every plan is an EPO or HMO, which for a therapist working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
If you are with Cigna or Molina, you already know you are changing plans — both are 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:
There is no single Mississippi 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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