Ranked 12 of 15 states · median $807/mo · CMS PY2026
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A 40-year-old videographer 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: Heavy gear lifting; location and travel exposure.
This is background for choosing a plan, not for pricing one. Since 2014 every Texas exchange plan has been guaranteed issue and community rated: same age, same ZIP, same tobacco status means the same filed premium whether you are a videographer or an accountant. Occupation changes the shopping criteria, nothing else.
Premium is set by rating area, so a videographer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Irion | $920 | Ambetter from Superior HealthPlan | $6,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $124/month — $1,487 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 videographer 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
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a videographer who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
Self-employed Videographers in Texas typically deduct: Cameras, drones, editing suite, vehicle, insurance. Health premiums sit separately, above the line under IRC §162(l), and only when neither you nor a spouse could have joined an employer plan — eligibility disqualifies you even if you declined the coverage.
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.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in Texas 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 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 sits above the cliff in 4 of the 21 states reported and below it in the other 17, so the answer changes with the state.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Film and Video Editors (SOC 27-4032) 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 videographer. 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 Videographers 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 videographer 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. Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas marketplace — not in any of its 254 counties. Every plan is an HMO, EPO or POS, which for a videographer working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
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:
The sticker price is rarely what Videographers in Texas end up paying. Start with a ZIP and I will work out your actual number.