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Texas Care Map
Who qualifies for what in Texas, where to be seen when you qualify for nothing, and what to do about the bill.
Coverage, clinics, and medical bills, worked out for Texas.

Texas Health Coverage Resources

Every other list like this is organized by who runs the organization, which is only useful once you already know which kind of organization you need. This one is organized by the problem in front of you. Start with the heading that sounds like your afternoon.

I am trying to get covered

  • YourTexasBenefits, the official Texas Health and Human Services portal. Medicaid, CHIP, Healthy Texas Women, and SNAP applications, document uploads, change reports, and your notices. This is where the decision is actually made.
  • HealthCare.gov, the federal Marketplace. Texas uses the federal exchange, so there is no separate state site. Open enrollment runs 1 November to 15 January for the following plan year; outside that you need a special enrollment period.
  • Medicare.gov, for turning 65, disability based eligibility, and the Medicare Savings Programs that pay premiums for people with low incomes.
  • Healthy Texas Women, the state program’s own site, with its eligibility rules and a provider finder.

I am trying to get seen

  • HRSA Find a Health Center, the federal search tool for community health center sites. Every site listed must run a sliding fee discount schedule based on household size and income. This is the single most useful link on this page for an uninsured adult who needs ordinary care.
  • Texas Association of Community Health Centers, the state’s federally designated Primary Care Association. Its member search shows which organization runs the clinic nearest you and what else that organization operates.
  • National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, a map of volunteer staffed free clinics, which are a different thing with different rules.
  • 2-1-1 Texas, run through Texas Health and Human Services. Dial 2-1-1 from anywhere in the state. Best route to county level answers no national tool holds.
  • 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, free and confidential, any hour, no coverage check. For ongoing care, HHSC contracts with 37 local mental health authorities and two local behavioral health authorities, each with a 24 hour referral line; the searchable directory of them is the way in.
  • NeedyMeds, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and RxAssist, a directory of manufacturer assistance programs running since 1999. For when the appointment is affordable and the prescription is not.

I am trying to deal with a bill

  • CMS No Surprises Act, the federal protections against surprise bills, and the good faith estimate you can require as a self pay patient before a planned service.
  • CMS Hospital Price Transparency, the rule requiring hospitals to publish their standard charges, and how to find the files.
  • IRS, requirements for 501(c)(3) hospitals, the federal obligations behind a nonprofit hospital’s financial assistance policy, including the limits on what it may charge you and what it may do to collect.
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for how medical debt is reported, what a debt collector may and may not do, and how to file a complaint about one.

I am trying to complain about a health plan

  • Texas Department of Insurance, the state regulator, on 800-252-3439. It handles complaints about the plans it regulates and administers the Texas balance billing law. Ask the help line first whether your plan is one of them, because Texas law reaches TDI-regulated plans and federal law covers the rest.
  • CMS Marketplace appeals, for disputing a Marketplace eligibility decision.
  • Your HHSC denial notice itself, for a Medicaid or CHIP fair hearing. The deadline is printed on the notice, and it is short.

I want somebody to sit with me while I apply

  • HealthCare.gov Find Local Help, the federal directory of Navigators, Certified Application Counselors, agents, and brokers near you. Navigators and counselors may not charge you and may not take money from an insurer for an enrollment; agents and brokers are licensed salespeople paid by the carriers whose plans they sell.
  • 2-1-1 Texas, again, for in person application help with state programs rather than Marketplace plans.
  • Your nearest community health center, most of which employ certified application counselors and will help you apply whether or not you become their patient.

Where the numbers on this site come from

The figures in our explainers are checked against these, and each carries the date it was last verified.

External links are for reference only, and a link is not an endorsement. See the Medical Disclaimer.