Tennessee Counties & Rating Areas

Health insurance in Tennessee is organized by rating areas — groups of counties that insurers price plans around. Your county determines which plans you can buy and how they're priced, but nothing else about the rules changes when you cross a county line. This page is your map: find your county below, and you'll land on your rating area, where you'll find the full picture for where you live.

Why your county matters

Insurers file their plans and prices with regulators per rating area, not per county and not statewide. Tennessee has 8 rating areas. That means:

What changes county to county:

• Which insurers sell in your rating area. Five insurers sell 2027 marketplace plans somewhere in Tennessee — BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Celtic/Ambetter, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare, and Alliant — but not every insurer sells in every rating area. (Cigna exits Tennessee at the end of 2026.) Per-area carrier availability for 2027 is still being confirmed, so each rating-area page is explicit about what's verified and what isn't.
• Premiums. Plans are priced by rating area, so the same plan can cost differently in Nashville's area versus the Memphis area versus rural Upper Cumberland.
• Provider networks. This matters most in rural Tennessee: one hospital system may be in one plan's network and out of another's. Always check whether your doctors and your hospital are in-network before you pick a plan.
• In-person navigator help. GetCoveredTenn's Navigator program (1-866-475-7879, getcoveredtenn.org) offers in-person help in exactly 10 counties; everywhere else, help is by phone or video. The 10 counties are flagged below.

What's identical statewide:

• Open enrollment dates: November 1, 2026 – January 15, 2027 (December 15, 2026 for coverage starting January 1, 2027) on HealthCare.gov (1-800-318-2596).
• Subsidy rules: the enhanced premium tax credits expired December 31, 2025, so the pre-2021 rules apply everywhere — 100–400% of the federal poverty level, with a hard cliff at 400%.
• Essential health benefits, guaranteed issue (no one can be turned down for a pre-existing condition), and the same enrollment rules on HealthCare.gov.
• TennCare and CoverKids accept applications year-round, with the same eligibility rules statewide.
• Farm Bureau health plans are available in all 95 counties.

The 95-county index

Rating Area 1 — Northeast Tennessee (Tri-Cities area)

• Carter County → Rating Area 1
• Greene County → Rating Area 1
• Hancock County → Rating Area 1
• Hawkins County → Rating Area 1
• Johnson County → Rating Area 1
• Sullivan County → Rating Area 1
• Unicoi County → Rating Area 1
• Washington County → Rating Area 1

Rating Area 2 — East Tennessee (Knoxville area)

• Anderson County → Rating Area 2
• Blount County → Rating Area 2
• Campbell County → Rating Area 2
• Claiborne County → Rating Area 2
• Cocke County → Rating Area 2
• Grainger County → Rating Area 2
• Hamblen County → Rating Area 2
• Jefferson County → Rating Area 2
• Knox County → Rating Area 2
• Loudon County → Rating Area 2
• Monroe County → Rating Area 2
• Morgan County → Rating Area 2
• Roane County → Rating Area 2
• Scott County → Rating Area 2
• Sevier County → Rating Area 2
• Union County → Rating Area 2

Rating Area 3 — Southeast Tennessee (Chattanooga area)

• Bledsoe County → Rating Area 3
• Bradley County → Rating Area 3
• Franklin County → Rating Area 3
• Grundy County → Rating Area 3
• Hamilton County → Rating Area 3
• Marion County → Rating Area 3
• McMinn County → Rating Area 3
• Meigs County → Rating Area 3
• Polk County → Rating Area 3
• Rhea County → Rating Area 3
• Sequatchie County → Rating Area 3

Rating Area 4 — Middle Tennessee (Nashville area)

• Cheatham County → Rating Area 4 (in-person navigator help available)
• Davidson County → Rating Area 4 (in-person navigator help available)
• Montgomery County → Rating Area 4
• Robertson County → Rating Area 4 (in-person navigator help available)
• Rutherford County → Rating Area 4 (in-person navigator help available)
• Sumner County → Rating Area 4 (in-person navigator help available)
• Trousdale County → Rating Area 4
• Williamson County → Rating Area 4 (in-person navigator help available)
• Wilson County → Rating Area 4 (in-person navigator help available)

Rating Area 5 — West Tennessee (rural northwest)

• Benton County → Rating Area 5
• Carroll County → Rating Area 5
• Chester County → Rating Area 5
• Crockett County → Rating Area 5
• Decatur County → Rating Area 5
• Dyer County → Rating Area 5
• Gibson County → Rating Area 5
• Hardeman County → Rating Area 5
• Hardin County → Rating Area 5
• Henderson County → Rating Area 5
• Henry County → Rating Area 5
• Lake County → Rating Area 5
• Madison County → Rating Area 5
• McNairy County → Rating Area 5
• Obion County → Rating Area 5
• Weakley County → Rating Area 5

Rating Area 6 — West Tennessee (Memphis area)

• Fayette County → Rating Area 6 (in-person navigator help available)
• Haywood County → Rating Area 6
• Lauderdale County → Rating Area 6
• Shelby County → Rating Area 6 (in-person navigator help available)
• Tipton County → Rating Area 6 (in-person navigator help available)

Rating Area 7 — Upper Cumberland

• Cannon County → Rating Area 7
• Clay County → Rating Area 7
• Cumberland County → Rating Area 7
• DeKalb County → Rating Area 7
• Fentress County → Rating Area 7
• Jackson County → Rating Area 7
• Macon County → Rating Area 7
• Overton County → Rating Area 7
• Pickett County → Rating Area 7
• Putnam County → Rating Area 7
• Smith County → Rating Area 7
• Van Buren County → Rating Area 7
• Warren County → Rating Area 7
• White County → Rating Area 7

Rating Area 8 — South-central Middle Tennessee

• Bedford County → Rating Area 8
• Coffee County → Rating Area 8
• Dickson County → Rating Area 8
• Giles County → Rating Area 8
• Hickman County → Rating Area 8
• Houston County → Rating Area 8
• Humphreys County → Rating Area 8
• Lawrence County → Rating Area 8
• Lewis County → Rating Area 8
• Lincoln County → Rating Area 8
• Marshall County → Rating Area 8
• Maury County → Rating Area 8
• Moore County → Rating Area 8
• Perry County → Rating Area 8
• Stewart County → Rating Area 8
• Wayne County → Rating Area 8

Note: the geographic labels above (e.g., "Tri-Cities," "Knoxville") are our editorial descriptors to help you orient — they aren't official CMS names for these areas.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my county change which plans I can buy?

Because insurers don't sell one statewide menu — they file plans and prices with regulators separately for each of Tennessee's 8 rating areas. An insurer might compete aggressively in the Nashville area and not sell in rural northwest Tennessee at all. Your rating area is the real unit of the market, which is why this page organizes everything around it. Remember, per-area carrier availability for 2027 is still being confirmed, so check your rating-area page for what's verified.

Do premiums differ by county?

They differ by rating area, not exactly by county — every county in the same rating area shares the same filed prices. Two counties in the same area get the same plan prices; two counties in different areas don't. We don't publish specific premium prices anywhere on this site — use HealthCare.gov to see exact prices for your area.

I'm moving to another Tennessee county — can I change plans?

Yes. Moving to a new county is a qualifying life event, which triggers a special enrollment period — so you're not stuck waiting for open enrollment. If your move takes you into a different rating area, the plans available to you will change. Start at HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 to report your move and shop.

How do I know which doctors and hospitals my plan covers?

Check the plan's provider directory before you enroll — especially in rural counties, where one hospital system may be in one plan's network and out of another's. A free Navigator can walk you through this: call GetCoveredTenn at 1-866-475-7879 or visit getcoveredtenn.org. In-person help is available in Cheatham, Davidson, Fayette, Robertson, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Tipton, Williamson, and Wilson counties; everywhere else it's phone or virtual.

What if I live in a county with no in-person help?

You're not on your own. The same free Navigators serve all 85 counties outside the in-person footprint by phone and video. Call 1-866-475-7879 or go to getcoveredtenn.org to reach them.

Does anything about my coverage rights change if I move between rating areas?

No. Your rating area changes which plans and prices you see, but the rules don't: open enrollment dates, subsidy rules, essential health benefits, guaranteed issue, and TennCare/CoverKids eligibility are identical statewide.

Sources

• CMS — Geographic Rating Areas: the county→rating-area mapping for Tennessee (verified against CMS data).
• Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance — insurer rate filings for 2027 marketplace plans.
• CMS Navigator program award summaries — GetCoveredTenn's 10-county in-person service footprint.

Keep exploring

• Tennessee Regions Overview — the state at a glance, organized by region.
• Marketplace & Insurers — who's selling plans in Tennessee for 2027 and how to shop.
• Enrollment Calendar — open enrollment dates, deadlines, and special enrollment periods.
• Rural Tennessee — buying health insurance outside the metro areas: networks, hospitals, and navigator access.

Last verified: October 17, 2026