Ranked 5 of 15 states · median $687/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old truck driver in Wisconsin pays a median $687/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 5th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $526 from Network Health in Calumet. On counties covered, Wisconsin ranks 10 of 15 for this occupation.
Work that crosses county and state lines makes network geography the binding constraint. A cheap HMO that only contracts in one metro is worthless 200 miles away, so these pages rank states by network reach and flag the ones with no PPO on the exchange at all.
Occupational context: Elevated rates of obesity, sleep apnea, and back injury; DOT physical required every 24 months.
None of that changes your price. ACA plans in Wisconsin 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 truck driver in one Wisconsin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge | $633 | Dean | $3,500 | 4 |
| Iowa | $643 | Dean | $3,500 | 2 |
| Price | $673 | Security | $6,000 | 2 |
| Barron | $731 | Security | $6,000 | 3 |
| Sawyer | $774 | Security | $6,000 | 3 |
| Door | $541 | CareSource (Common Ground Healthcare) | $5,000 | 4 |
The spread across just these six is $233/month — $2,795 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $526 to $1,062. Coverage by County publishes all 72 Wisconsin counties individually.
| Wisconsin — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 72 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 1 (1%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO |
| PPO available on exchange | Yes |
| Carriers filing in the state | 12 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $526 — Calumet |
Wisconsin has PPO plans available. For a truck driver covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 1 of 72 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. 2,651 plan records across 72 Wisconsin counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Ohio ($625), South Carolina ($636), Alabama ($680). More expensive: Michigan ($708), South Dakota ($725), Oklahoma ($731).
Side-by-side: Wisconsin vs South Carolina · Wisconsin vs Alabama · Wisconsin vs Michigan · Wisconsin vs South Dakota
Read the comparison as context, not as a shopping list. Your county of residence determines what you can buy, and for a truck driver that is fixed unless you relocate. Where it is actionable is a move already in progress — that is a qualifying life event, and you have 60 days on either side of it.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Truck payment, fuel, maintenance, per diem, insurance. Premiums are generally deductible above the line under IRC §162(l) when no employer plan is available to you or your spouse — a question for your CPA, not your agent.
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 Wisconsin is $526 per month from Network Health, with a state median of $687. 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, HMO, POS, PPO.
Wisconsin ranks 5 of 15 states covered here, at a median $687 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 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (SOC 53-3032) in Wisconsin. 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 truck driver. 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 Wisconsin specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Truck Drivers in Wisconsin and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
Wisconsin has 12 carriers filing across 72 counties right now. That list is rebuilt every year, so what you can choose from in November may not match what you see today — and for a truck driver buying your own cover, who stays matters more than the headline rate.
Rate filings for 2027 point to roughly a 15% median increase nationally, from −1% at one end to 54% at the other. Wisconsin has not finalised, so treat exact local 2027 pricing as unavailable rather than unknown.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Wisconsin 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.
PPO availability is patchy here: 15 of 72 Wisconsin counties. For Truck Drivers 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 Wisconsin’s carriers under a deadline; today you can do it without one.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
Two Truck Drivers on opposite sides of Wisconsin can be quoted very different premiums for the same plan. Your ZIP is what decides it.