Everyone wants to save a buck. This is all the truer when it comes to health insurance. In fact, cost is one of the reasons many do not have health insurance today. This may be why you are reading this article. We at CoverMile are in the business of helping individuals and families find the best cheap health insurance in Texas. If you need health insurance in Austin, Dallas, Corpus, Houston, or El Paso, we have found affordable health insurance from the top health insurance companies. Let’s show you what we’ve found.
Cheap Health Insurance Providers in Texas
In Texas, you can have up to eight choices for your family’s health insurance needs. It primarily depends on which county you live in. Some providers are available statewide, while others only offer their services to select counties. Below, we will review four cheap health insurance companies in Texas and how each coverage compares.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, which you will often see abbreviated as BCBS of Texas, is available statewide. They are one of the only insurance companies that offers coverage to every Texas county with both on and off-Marketplace plans. Their rates are higher than most, but for 2024, they had a .24 percent rate decrease over 2023 rates.
BCBS of Texas offers twenty-eight health plans across the three different metal levels. They extend Dental and Vision as add-on benefits and offer mail-order pharmacy with all of their prescription services. Other benefits include virtual services where a patient can talk to a nurse or doctor via phone or video.
Oscar
Oscar Insurance is limited to fifteen Texas counties, with Travis, Dallas, Harris, El Paso, and Bexar counties being the top five. These are counties that include major cities like San Antonio, Houston, Austin, and El Paso. The cost for a 2024 health insurance plan in any of these counties has improved over 2023, where members had seen a double-digit increase over 2022 rates.
Among Oscar’s 29 metal plan offerings, they are known for a few factors. The first is $3 generic prescriptions with select plans; the second is offering zero-dollar Virtual Specialist visits with their plans. Most insurance companies only offer doctor or urgent care visits at no charge. One can also add dental and vision benefits.
UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare has undergone a major expansion for 2024. They will now be available in 206 of the 254 Texas counties. They also improved their cost on their seventeen marketplace health insurance plan premiums. In 2023, they had risen by 13 percent. For 2024, they have an increase, but it is only 5 percent, a sizeable improvement.
A couple of things that set UHC apart from the pack are having plans with dental and vision insurance built in versus having them as an add-on policy. The other is offering short-term health insurance. This benefits those who desire health insurance, but it is before the ACA annual open enrollment, and they don’t qualify for a special enrollment period.
Ascension (US Health and Life)
Ascension offers low deductibles for 2024. Many are zero dollars on Bronze and Silver metal plans. They offer HMO and EPO plans to seven Texas counties on-exchange and another twelve off-exchange. While our review did show a 13 percent increase in their premium over 2023, they still have the cheapest health insurance in Texas on this review.
A major benefit Ascension has over the competition is that they own their hospital network. This allows them to reduce costs on their thirty eight marketplace plan offerings and pass it on to the consumer through lower premiums. Ascension also has plans that are designated for American Indians and Alaskan Natives.
If you have questions when shopping for the best cheap health insurance in Texas, contact CoverMile. We can help you find the coverage that fits your current situation and guide you through the sign-up process.
Texas Health Insurance for 2024
Shopping for cheap health insurance in Texas strongly depends on which county you live in. You may have up to as many as eight insurance options or as few as two or three. One company that is available statewide is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas.
As for cost, how much you will pay has many variables. The first is your age, then zip code, and your status as a smoker is also taken into consideration. Finally, if you add a spouse and children, this will also increase your monthly premium. You can save on your health insurance in Texas by qualifying for tax credits and subsidies such as Cost Saving Reductions. Understand, though, that CSRs are only available when purchasing a Silver tier policy.
The Best Cheapest Health Insurance Plans for Texans
Below, we have selected the best cheap health insurance plans in Texas. Please keep in mind that not all insurance companies are available in all counties. BCBS of Texas is the only company that is available statewide, UnitedHealthcare comes close. Also, when determining the cost of insurance, location is one of the factors that affect cost.
| BCBS of Texas | MyBlue Health Bronze – 402 | MyBlue Health Gold – 403 | My Blue Health Silver – 405 |
| Deducible | $7400/$14,800 | $1000/$2,000 | $1900/$3800 |
| Co-insurance | 50% | 50% | 40% |
| Out-of-Pocket Max | $9450/$18,900 | $9450/$18,900 | $7550/$15,100 |
| Primary Care Visit | $0 | $0 copay | $0 |
| Specialist Visit | 50% | 30% | 40% |
| Emergency Room | $950 copay plus 50% | $950 copay plus 30% | $950 copay plus 30% |
| Urgent Care | $160 copay/ $0 for first two visits | $30 copay/ $0 for first two visits | $30 copay/ $0 for first two visits |
| Inpatient Hospital | $850/visit deductible, then 50% | $850/visit deductible, then 30% | $850/visit deductible, then 40% |
| Outpatient Hospital | 40% coinsurance | $300 per visit plus 30% coinsurance | $600/visit deductible, then 40% |
| Prescription (Pharmacy) | $10/$20/30%/35%/ 45%/50%* | $10/$15/30%/35%/ 45%/50%* | $5/$15/30%/35%/ 45%/50%* |
*Prescriptions are Preferred and Non-Preferred Generic/Preferred and Non-Preferred Brand/Preferred and Non-Preferred Specialty
| Oscar | Bronze Classic Standard – EPO | Gold Classic Standard – EPO | Silver Classic Standard – EPO |
| Deducible | $7500/$15,000 | $1500/$3,000 | $5700/$11,400 |
| Co-insurance | 50% | 25% | 40% |
| Out-of-Pocket Max | $9400/$18,800 | $8700/$17,400 | $7200/$14,400 |
| Primary Care Visit | $50 | $30 copay | $40 |
| Specialist Visit | $100 | $60 copay | $80 |
| Emergency Room | 50% coinsurance after deductible | 25% coinsurance after deductible | 40% coinsurance after deductible |
| Urgent Care | $75 copay | $45 copay | $60 copay |
| Inpatient Hospital | 50% coinsurance after deductible | 25% coinsurance after deductible | 40% coinsurance after deductible |
| Outpatient Hospital | 50% coinsurance after deductible | 25% coinsurance after deductible | 40% coinsurance after deductible |
| Prescription (Pharmacy) | $25/Ded+$50/Ded+$100/ Ded+$500* | $15/$30/$60/$250* | $20/$40/Ded+$80/ Ded+$350* |
*Prescriptions are Generics: Preferred and Non-Preferred; Brand:/Preferred, Non-Preferred, and Specialty
| UnitedHealthcare | UHC Bronze Virtual First | UHC Gold Value | UHC Silver-E Value |
| Deducible | $7250/$14,500 | $2000/$4,000 | $3000/$6000 |
| Co-insurance | 50% | 20% | 50% |
| Out-of-Pocket Max | $9450/$18,900 | $8500/$17,000 | $7500/$15,000 |
| Primary Care Visit | $120 – $0 Virtual Visits | $0 copay | $0 copay |
| Specialist Visit | 30% coinsurance | 20% | 50% |
| Emergency Room | 50% coinsurance | 20% | 50% |
| Urgent Care | $120 copay – $0 copay for VV | $50 copay | 50% |
| Inpatient Hospital | 30% coinsurance | 20% | 50% |
| Outpatient Hospital | 30% coinsurance | 20% | 50% |
| Prescription (Pharmacy) | $0/$3/$60/30%/ 45%/50%* | $0/$1/$15/$60/ 40%/50%* | $0/$3/$20/$75/ 40%/50%* |
*Prescriptions are Tiered 1 through 5. 1 being low-cost, Generic; 5 being Brand and higher cost.
| US Health and Life – Ascension | Personalized Care Standard Expanded Bronze – EPO | Personalized Care Standard Gold – EPO | Personalized Care Low Premium Silver – EPO |
| Deducible | $7500/$15,000 | $1500/$3,000 | $3500/$7,000 |
| Co-insurance | 50% | 25% | 50% |
| Out-of-Pocket Max | $9400/$18,800 | $8700/$17,400 | $7250/$18,200 |
| Primary Care Visit | $50 | $30 copay | $30 copay |
| Specialist Visit | $100 | $60 copay | $60 copay |
| Emergency Room | Deductible + 50% coinsurance | Deductible + 25% coinsurance | Deductible + 50% coinsurance |
| Urgent Care | $75 copay | $45 copay | Deductible + 50% coinsurance |
| Inpatient Hospital | Deductible + 50% coinsurance | Deductible + 25% coinsurance | Deductible + 50% coinsurance |
| Outpatient Hospital | $50 copay | $10 copay | $30 copay |
| Prescription (Pharmacy) | $25/Ded+$50/Ded+$100/ Ded+$500* | $15/$30/$60/$250* | $25/$50/Ded+50%/ Ded+50%* |
*Prescriptions are Generic, Preferred, Non-Preferred Brand, and Specialty – RX Deductible applies on some plans and levels.
CoverMile helps individuals and families find the best cheap health insurance coverage in all Texas counties. Plans exist for as low as $0 per month with subsidies.
How Can I Find the Best Cheap Health Insurance in Texas for 2024?
We have mentioned the various factors that determine the cost of health insurance in Texas. Among the most significant are location, age, household income and family size. Under the Affordable Care Act, a person’s health cannot affect premiums. Insurance companies cannot rate a policy due to chronic conditions or health history, nor can a policy contain restrictions or exclusions. The only health factor that can affect premiums is tobacco usage.
How much you will pay for cheap health insurance in Texas can be reduced based on how much you make. Household income determines your qualification for subsidies such as the premium tax credit and cost-sharing reductions. When you qualify, you can pay as low as zero dollars per month for your premium.
Finding the right policy is important. More is not always best. A healthy individual who rarely sees the doctor will have different medical needs than one who has a chronic condition and visits a doctor or specialist regularly. How much you use your insurance will determine the type of policy you and your family require.
Finally, a Gold metal plan will generally cost more than a Bronze metal plan. A high-deductible Silver plan will, for the most part, cost less than a similar plan with a $1000 deductible. However, in some cases, a Gold metal plan can cost less than a Silver metal tiered plan due to how the ACA rates Silver metal plans. If you have questions regarding how to find cheap health insurance in Texas, contact the insurance experts at CoverMile.
At CoverMile, we help Texans find the best cheap health insurance that meets their needs. We take the time to talk to you, help you understand each Texas plan, and assist you in purchasing your insurance policy. Contact us today.
