Ways to apply for Texas Medicaid
These are the channels Texas names on its own Medicaid pages. Use whichever is easiest.
- Online
-
Apply online
yourtexasbenefits.com
- By phone
- Call 2-1-1
- In person
- Deliver paperwork to a local HHSC benefits office. Find an office
- By mail
- The state accepts applications by mail.
- HealthCare.gov
- You can also apply at HealthCare.gov any time of year. If anyone in your household looks eligible for Medicaid, it sends your information to Texas's agency.
- Decision time
- Federal rules give the state up to 45 days to decide, or 90 days if you apply based on a disability (42 CFR 435.912).
Read on the state's own pages, October 13, 2026.
Key facts at a glance
- Pregnant women eligible up to 198% FPL ($51,120 for a family of three in 2025).
- Children 0-5 eligible up to 203% FPL ($52,410 for a family of three).
- Parents eligible up to 15% FPL only, no expansion adult category.
- Postpartum Medicaid extended to 12 months (effective 2024-03-01).
Texas Medicaid, topic by topic
Eligibility
Income limits & who qualifies
Texas Medicaid covers pregnant women up to 198% of the federal poverty line ($51,120 annual income for a family of three in 2025).
How to apply
How to apply step by step
Apply online at yourtexasbenefits.com or call 2-1-1.
Doula coverage
Doula coverage details
Texas Medicaid does not currently cover doula services through Medicaid; state advocacy for a State Plan Amendment is ongoing.
Postpartum extension
12-month postpartum status
Texas Medicaid extended postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months, effective 2024-03-01.
Pregnant women
Pregnancy coverage in full
Texas Medicaid covers pregnancy-related care up to 198% of the federal poverty line (about $51,120 annual income for a family of three in 2…
Renewal
Annual renewal & unwinding
Texas Medicaid redetermines eligibility at least once every 12 months under 42 CFR 435.916. During the 2023+ unwinding, roughly 69% of dise…
For Black families
Roughly 865,000 Black residents are enrolled in Texas Medicaid, per the most recent CMS T-MSIS analytic file. The number understates true eligibility: every state has Black eligibles who aren't currently enrolled, usually because of the administrative-churn rates that rose sharply during the 2023 unwinding.
Texas has the lowest parent-income Medicaid cap in the country: 15% of the federal poverty line, roughly $3,900 annual income for a family of three. Texas finally extended postpartum coverage to 12 months in March 2024 under HB 12 (2023), after CMS repeatedly denied earlier waiver requests. An estimated 1.5 million Texans remain in the coverage gap.
For enrollment help: look for your state's Navigator program (federally funded under the ACA), a Federally Qualified Health Center in your county (every FQHC has certified application counselors on staff), or one of the named community organizations below. Our FQHC directory filters to this state at /clinics/tx/.
More on Texas from Black Health
FQHCs
Federally Qualified Health Centers in Texas
Sliding-scale clinics that take Medicaid + help with applications.
Providers
Providers who accept Medicaid in Texas
Filter our directory to Texas by specialty.
Health data
Black Health outcomes in Texas
Maternal mortality, life expectancy, uninsured rate by race.
Sickle cell
Medicaid gene-therapy coverage in Texas
Does Texas Medicaid cover Casgevy + Lyfgenia? SCDAA chapter, comprehensive centers.
Hospitals
Safety-net hospitals in Texas
CMS ratings, Medicaid-accepting hospitals, and which facilities anchor care for Black patients.
Tool
Medicaid eligibility pre-check for Texas
Household size and income, in about a minute. Direct link to Texas’s apply portal.
WIC
WIC in Texas
Adjunctive WIC eligibility for everyone on Texas Medicaid, monthly food package + Cash-Value Benefit.
SNAP
SNAP (food stamps) in Texas
Federal food assistance: FY 2025 max benefits, ABAWD rules, application URL for Texas.
TANF
TANF cash assistance in Texas
Texas’s maximum monthly TANF cash benefit, time limits, and how to apply.
Data sources
- Texas Medicaid — state Medicaid portal.
- KFF State Health Facts, Medicaid income eligibility + expansion + enrollment tables (kff.org/statedata).
- National Health Law Program doula Medicaid project (healthlaw.org/doulamedicaidproject).
- March of Dimes Report Card, 12-month postpartum extension tracker (marchofdimes.org/report-card).
- CMS T-MSIS Analytic Files, Medicaid enrollment by race and ethnicity (medicaid.gov/dq-atlas).
- HHS Poverty Guidelines, 2025 Federal Register release.
Data refreshed:
If you have Medicaid, the coverage on this page is the route to use first: it costs you nothing and it is what these programs exist for. If you are not covered yet, there is still a free option. Our directory of free and charitable clinics lists centers by state. The option below is self-pay and is not billed to Medicaid. It is here for readers who are between coverage or who prefer to pay out of pocket:
See a doctor online today.
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- Price shown before you book
- No insurance needed
with Sesame Care
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