Ranked 1 of 15 states · median $558/mo · CMS PY2026
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 21 States
A 40-year-old wedding planner 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 counties covered, Indiana ranks 5 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: Long standing hours; lifting; high-stress event days.
Two things get confused here constantly. Risk exposure decides what coverage you should buy. It does not decide what you are charged — Indiana carriers rate on age, ZIP, tobacco and family size, full stop. A wedding planner 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 wedding planner 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perry | $440 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Starke | $452 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Tipton | $454 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Hancock | $457 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 5 |
| Newton | $460 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
| Dearborn | $465 | Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | $7,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $25/month — $297 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $440 to $699. Coverage by County publishes all 92 Indiana counties individually.
| Indiana — network reach | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Counties in the state | 92 |
| Counties with only one carrier | 0 (0%) |
| Plan types available | EPO, HMO, POS |
| PPO available on exchange | No |
| Carriers filing in the state | 5 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $440 — Daviess |
Indiana has no PPO plans on the exchange at all. For a wedding planner covering distance, that single fact outweighs premium: 0 of 92 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. 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
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A wedding planner living in Indiana and working across a state line still buys Indiana plans. A genuine permanent move does trigger a special enrollment period, but the plan year restarts with a fresh deductible.
If you file a Schedule C as a wedding planner, the categories that usually show up are: Travel, liability insurance, samples, software. 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 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. Indiana exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated, so a wedding planner pays exactly what anyone else of the same age in the same ZIP pays. Occupation is not on the application as a rating factor.
No. Only EPO and HMO and POS plans were filed for 2026.
Indiana ranks 1 of 15 states covered here, at a median $558 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
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 Wedding Planners in Indiana and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.