Black Medicaid coverage in Texas
24
% of Black residents
About 24% of Black residents of Texas receive Medicaid coverage. Texas is a Medicaid non-expansion state.
US national average: 19 % of Black residents
Historical trend
What this means for Black residents
That figure tracks roughly the US national average of 19.0 % of Black residents enrolled, though the underlying trend and drivers are state-specific.
Medicaid is the single largest payer for Black maternal and infant health care in Texas, as it is in every US state. Beyond basic coverage, the coverage-specific levers that matter for Black health outcomes are: doula services coverage (which evidence shows reduces preterm birth and unplanned cesareans), midwife scope of practice (which addresses the obstetric-provider shortage in rural and majority-Black counties), and postpartum extension to 12 months (which reduces mortality in the post-delivery period when most maternal deaths actually occur).
The figures on this page are drawn from KFF Medicaid + State Medicaid Portal, which is the canonical public dataset for this indicator. See the References section below for supporting citations from MMWR, NEJM, and JAMA where the underlying drivers have been studied.
Policy actions
Texas has not adopted Medicaid expansion. Hundreds of thousands of low-income Black adults in this state would become eligible for coverage on the day the state expands. KFF estimates the state's coverage gap is substantially Black. The single largest Black health policy lever in this state is Medicaid expansion legislation or a ballot initiative.
Where to get help in your state
- Enroll in Medicaid or CHIP (Texas): Start at Medicaid.gov
- ACA marketplace coverage: Healthcare.gov (open enrollment + special enrollment periods)
- FQHCs serve uninsured patients on a sliding-fee scale in Texas: browse FQHCs
References & primary sources
- Primary dataset: KFF Medicaid + State Medicaid Portal
- KFF Medicaid Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity, State Health Facts. kff.org state indicator
- CMS Medicaid.gov State Overviews.
Data refreshed: