Health insurance in Texas, 2027
Texas has the second-largest Marketplace in the country and the strictest Medicaid limit for parents. Here is where the help is.
Last checked October 16, 2026 · Written by licensed advisors · Sources are numbered and listed under Notes and sources
Texas uses HealthCare.gov
Texas does not run its own marketplace. You compare plans and apply for a tax credit on HealthCare.gov.
For 2026 coverage, 4,172,233 Texans picked a Marketplace plan, second only to Florida.1
- Marketplace
- HealthCare.gov
- 2026 plan selections
- 4,172,233, second in the country
- Medicaid expansion
- No
The dates for 2027
Open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Choose a plan by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1, 2027.2
- November 1, 2026Open enrollment for 2027 starts (key step)
- December 15Last day to choose a plan that starts January 1 (key step)
- January 15, 2027Open enrollment ends
- February 1, 2027Coverage starts for plans chosen December 16 to January 15
Heads up: Choose a plan after December 15 and it starts February 1, not January 1. If nothing else covers you in January, that is a month without coverage.
The strictest Medicaid limit for parents
Texas did not expand Medicaid. A parent in a family of three qualifies only up to 15% of the poverty level, about $4,098 a year or $342 a month, the lowest limit in the country. Other adults generally don’t qualify on income alone.
Children are a different story: they qualify at much higher incomes through Medicaid and CHIP.345
The coverage gap
Who it affects: Texas adults earning under the poverty level.
An adult in Texas earning under the poverty level, $15,960 for one person, often can’t get Medicaid and is under the floor for a Marketplace tax credit. KFF counts about 1.2 million uninsured adults in this gap across the ten states that did not expand, Texas among them.
If your income is close to the poverty line, the estimate you give matters. A raise, a second job or a spouse’s income can move you above it.3
What to do: Estimate your income carefully. Being near either line changes what you can get.
Which insurers sell plans
Texas’s 2027 Marketplace plans appear on HealthCare.gov on November 1. Texas is large, and the choices in Houston can look nothing like those in a rural county.2
Help from a licensed agency
Our agency is licensed in Texas, and we work with Texans by phone and video, from our Chicago office. We compare the plans in your county and show you what to keep in mind on each one, at no cost to you.6
Related guides
Obamacare Hotline and/or Medicare Po Polsku are private companies not affiliated with any local, state, or federal government agency. This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice.