Nationwide PPO plans remain available in Wyoming. But if you're a Casper plumber newly working under your own license, I'd first look at the state's coverage gap and how your income estimate affects it.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I specialize exclusively in health insurance, hold a Wyoming broker license and help clients over the phone.
Imagine a single, 29-year-old Casper plumber who's just earned his own license after spending years as a journeyman at a local company. He's invested in a secondhand van and a jetter, and jobs are beginning to come in. He's answering calls around the older streets near CY Avenue, replacing water heaters in Evansville and Mills, handling some new construction east of town and thawing frozen pipes when January winds sweep down Casper Mountain. Leaving his employer means losing the company health plan. He's healthy, but shopping for his own insurance is completely new territory.
Here's the important part up front: nationwide PPO insurance is available in Wyoming, and I can price it for you in Casper.
Natrona County's marketplace offers 23 medical plans for 2026, divided between 2 insurers: 11 PPOs and 12 EPOs. Here, the PPO actually has the price advantage. For a 40-year-old shopping for silver coverage before credits, the lowest-priced PPO is 5% below the lowest-priced EPO, making it the county's least expensive silver option. An EPO generally won't contribute to care outside its network unless it's an emergency. A PPO can still cover part of those expenses, something worth considering if a job takes you into Colorado or Montana and you get injured.
Wyoming has not adopted Medicaid expansion. KFF reports that, as of January 2026, the income cutoff is 43% of the federal poverty level for parents in a household of three and 0 for other adults. In plain English, being a low-income single adult without children doesn't, by itself, qualify you for Wyoming Medicaid.
Premium credits through the marketplace generally begin at 100% of the federal poverty level. HealthCare.gov explains that in states such as Wyoming, adults below that threshold who aren't eligible for Medicaid through another category can receive neither Medicaid nor marketplace assistance. If you're launching a plumbing business, an unexpectedly low first-year profit could put you in that gap.
This is the situation I see most often with new business owners. When you can reasonably project net income above the poverty threshold, the marketplace credit becomes available and usually makes that coverage your lowest-cost route. For a plumber, calculate net by subtracting van expenses, gas, equipment, piping materials, parts, licensing and liability insurance from revenue. I'd begin with Natrona County's lowest-priced silver PPO. Keep your HealthCare.gov estimate updated as work comes in, since understating your actual earnings can result in repaying some premium credit.
Next step: Tell me your revenue to date and what you realistically expect to spend. I'll calculate your credit and show you the Natrona County PPO prices.
Suppose your realistic income projection stays below 100% of the poverty level. As a single adult, you wouldn't qualify for Wyoming Medicaid based on income, and marketplace premium credits wouldn't be available either. You could buy a marketplace policy at full price. If you're a healthy 29-year-old, I'd also quote a nationwide PPO with medical underwriting. After reviewing your health answers, the insurer could approve you, approve you with an existing condition excluded, or turn down the application. Healthy younger applicants often receive prices below unsubsidized marketplace premiums. Once business improves, we can reassess the choices.
Next step: Give me a call with your projected net earnings and medical background. I'll compare nationwide PPO pricing with marketplace coverage at full price.
A Casper plumbing business can fill its schedule within months. When that growth takes you beyond the credit range, Natrona County marketplace coverage becomes full price, making a nationwide PPO worth comparing.
Next step: Tell me your year of birth and which doctors you use. I'll price a nationwide PPO alongside Natrona County's unsubsidized marketplace plans.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
No. According to KFF, Wyoming has not implemented Medicaid expansion.
Income by itself won't qualify you. KFF's January 2026 data lists eligibility for Wyoming's other adults at 0.
In states without expansion, adults earning below 100% of the poverty level who lack another Medicaid eligibility route receive neither Medicaid coverage nor marketplace credits.
No. For a 40-year-old, the lowest-priced silver PPO is 5% below the lowest-priced silver EPO.
Let me know your county, everyone needing insurance, your revenue so far and your expected annual profit. I'll work out where your income puts you and quote the available Natrona County coverage.
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