Health insurance in Shelby County, Tennessee
5 insurers sell 65 marketplace plans here, and 12.6% of under-65 residents have no coverage at all.
Source: CMS Marketplace Open Enrollment Public Use Files and US Census Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, 2026 release.
Who sells here, and how much choice that gives
5 insurers compete in Shelby County with 65 plans between them, about 13 plans each. It gained 2 since the previous plan year, up from 3.
How many people here have no coverage
12.6% of Shelby County's 732,633 under-65 residents have no health coverage — 92,116 people. That is close to the Tennessee rate of 11.3%, and puts Shelby County in the middle half of the 1,817 counties on this site (604th).
Some of those 92,116 are in the Tennessee coverage gap: under $15,960 a year, too little for a subsidy and no expanded Medicaid to fall back on.
How much the marketplace is used
86,784 Shelby County residents selected a marketplace plan for 2026: 118 per thousand under-65 residents, 561st of 1,817. That is above the 78 per thousand typical of published counties. 13,827 of them — 16% — were new rather than renewing.
Shelby County against Tennessee
Shelby County is the largest of the 11 Tennessee counties we publish, by under-65 population. Its uninsured rate runs 1.3 points higher than Tennessee overall and with 5 insurers it is as well served as anywhere in Tennessee. Marketplace use is close to the Tennessee rate.
| Shelby County | Tennessee | Published median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uninsured, under 65 | 12.6% | 11.3% | 9.9% |
| Insurers selling | 5 | 3–5 | 4 |
| Plans offered | 65 | — | 57 |
| Selections per 1,000 | 118 | 98 | 78 |
| New rather than renewing | 16% | 16% | 15% |
Counties of a similar size nearby
| County | Under 65 | Uninsured | Insurers | Plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson County | 609,116 | 13.3% | 5 | 65 |
| Knox County | 413,016 | 9.8% | 4 | 50 |
| Rutherford County | 328,845 | 11.0% | 5 | 65 |
| Hamilton County | 306,635 | 11.5% | 5 | 59 |
| Multnomah County (Oregon) | 672,363 | 6.1% | 6 | 59 |
Multnomah County has 6 insurers against this county's 5 — a reminder that the county line, not the state line, is what decides your options.
Other Tennessee counties · Where the subsidy stops · Enrollment dates