Ranked 2 of 15 states · median $625/mo · CMS PY2026
Prefer to talk? Call (713) 575-9904
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 23 States
A 40-year-old welder in Ohio pays a median $625/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 2th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $482 from Oscar Health Insurance in Butler. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, Ohio ranks 9 of 15 for this occupation.
Trade work concentrates cost into rare, expensive events rather than spreading it across the year. That inverts the usual shopping logic: a lower premium with a $9,200 ceiling is a worse deal than a higher premium with a $6,000 one, because the ceiling is what you actually hit. These rankings follow the ceiling.
Occupational context: Fume inhalation, arc eye, and burn risk; hearing loss.
Worth being clear about what this does and does not affect: a carrier in Ohio cannot ask what you do for a living, cannot charge a welder more than a librarian of the same age in the same ZIP, and cannot exclude anything you were already treated for. Occupation only tells you which plan structure to shop for.
Premium is set by rating area, so a welder in one Ohio 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clermont | $495 | Oscar Health Insurance | $6,000 | 8 |
| Seneca | $497 | Molina Healthcare | $7,000 | 7 |
| Adams | $512 | Molina Healthcare | $7,000 | 6 |
| Harrison | $523 | Ambetter from Buckeye | $6,000 | 6 |
| Champaign | $526 | Antidote Health Plan of Ohio | $7,500 | 8 |
| Delaware | $528 | Antidote Health Plan of Ohio | $7,500 | 7 |
The spread across just these six is $33/month — $390 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $482 to $924. Coverage by County publishes all 88 Ohio counties individually.
| Ohio — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $5,500 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $482 — Oscar Health Insurance |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $482 — Oscar Health Insurance |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $674 |
For a welder, the gap between $5,500 and $10,600 in annual out-of-pocket maximum is worth more than any premium difference on this page. One serious injury reaches that ceiling regardless of which plan you picked.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 9,038 plan records across 88 Ohio counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Indiana ($558). More expensive: South Carolina ($636), Alabama ($680), Wisconsin ($687).
Side-by-side: Ohio vs Indiana · Ohio vs South Carolina · Ohio vs Alabama
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a welder who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
Self-employed Welders in Ohio typically deduct: Welding rig, consumables, PPE, truck, certification. 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 Ohio is $482 per month from Oscar Health Insurance, with a state median of $625. 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 HMO plans were filed for 2026.
Ohio ranks 2 of 15 states covered here, at a median $625 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 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers (SOC 51-4121) in Ohio. 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 welder. 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 Ohio specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Welders in Ohio and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
The Ohio market currently runs to 11 carriers over 88 counties. Carriers re-file every year, and for Welders the question that actually decides your renewal is which of them are still there in November.
On price the only honest number today is national: the Peterson-KFF read of 2027 filings puts the median proposed rise near 15%, spanning −1% to 54%. Final Ohio rates are not approved, so any precise 2027 figure quoted for this state is guesswork.
Enrollment opens November 1, 2026. Treat December 15 as the deadline: it guarantees January 1 cover on every marketplace, Ohio 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.
There is still no PPO on the Ohio marketplace — not in any of its 88 counties. Every plan is an HMO, EPO or POS, which for a welder working across a wide area is the binding constraint, not price.
Because Ohio sells no PPO in any of its 88 counties, the thing that will decide your 2027 experience is which network your providers sit in — and that is far easier to check now than during the rush.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
The sticker price is rarely what Welders in Ohio end up paying. Start with a ZIP and I will work out your actual number.