Dyess Air Force Base anchors the Abilene economy, and the city's private universities, hospitals, and ranching trade fill in the rest. That mix produces a lot of coverage transitions: airmen separating from service, ministry and university staff between contracts, and ag families who have never had an employer plan to begin with. Texas gives all of them more short-term flexibility than most states allow.
The rules here
| Max initial term (short-term) | Less than 12 months |
| Max total duration | 36 months (Tex. Ins. Code ch. 1509) |
| Products available | ACA marketplace, short-term, extended short-term, fixed indemnity, supplemental |
| Exchange type | Federal marketplace (HealthCare.gov) |
| Medicaid expansion | No |
What's available in Abilene
| Coverage line | Available here | Key limit | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace plans | Yes | Open enrollment or a qualifying event | ACA plans |
| Short-term medical | Yes | Initial term under 12 months | Short-term |
| Extended short-term (multi-year) | Yes | Up to 36 months total | Extended plans |
| Fixed indemnity | Yes | Pays set cash amounts, not a substitute for major medical | Fixed indemnity |
| Supplemental (accident, critical illness, dental, vision) | Yes | Pairs with other coverage | Accident · Critical illness · Dental · Vision |
Short-term and fixed indemnity plans are not ACA compliant and do not count as minimum essential coverage. They are medically underwritten and typically exclude pre-existing conditions.
What one person pays for coverage in Texas
Average monthly premiums for individual coverage. Family pricing differs; quotes are individual.
| Coverage type | Monthly premium (individual) | What that number is |
|---|---|---|
| ACA marketplace (before subsidy) | $709 avg. | State average, before tax credits (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| ACA marketplace (after average subsidy) | $41 after credit | State average, after the average tax credit, among subsidized enrollees (CMS Marketplace OEP, 2026).1 |
| Employer coverage (single / family) | $653 / $2009 single / family | State average total monthly premium, single / family; employee pays about $126/mo toward single coverage (MEPS-IC, 2024).2 |
| Medicaid | $0 or nominal for those who qualify | Program design, not an average; eligibility is income-based5 |
| Fixed indemnity | $235.39 mean | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Texas with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Accident | $44.20 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Texas with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Critical Illness | $30.72 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Texas with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
| Dental | $46.02 median | Among GetHealthPlans.com clients in Texas with individual coverage, as of July 2026.3 |
Self-employed Abilene residents, including ranchers and independent contractors, start from the individual marketplace benchmark above. Subsidy eligibility depends on your household income and size for the year. Estimates are never guarantees, and a licensed agent can run your specific numbers.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Abilene at a glance
Abilene is the commercial hub of a wide stretch of West Central Texas, serving ranch and farm communities well beyond Taylor County. Dyess Air Force Base is the region's largest employer, and Abilene Christian University, Hardin-Simmons University, and McMurry University give the city an outsized higher education presence for its population.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~125,000 | Taylor (FIPS 48441) | Abilene |
Three Abilene situations
Wade, 58, runs cattle south of town. He has bought his own coverage for decades. His income swings with the market, so some years he qualifies for a marketplace subsidy and some years he does not. In a lean year, an underwritten extended short-term plan can hold a lower rate for up to 36 months, though it would exclude his prior back surgery.
Jasmine, 24, separating from Dyess. Her military coverage ends at separation, which opens a Special Enrollment Period on HealthCare.gov. If she wants a stopgap while deciding on a civilian job, Texas law lets a short-term plan run in initial terms under 12 months rather than forcing a 90-day product.
Paul, 41, adjunct instructor at two universities. Neither position offers benefits. His household income puts him squarely in subsidy range, so a marketplace plan will usually beat anything underwritten once the credit is applied, and it covers his son's asthma without exclusions.
How Texas's rules work
Chapter 1509 of the Texas Insurance Code permits short-term plans with an initial term under 12 months and a total duration of 36 months including renewals. The Texas Department of Insurance describes these as lasting up to 3 years. Because that limit sits in state law, it does not move when federal rulemaking shifts, and the 2024 federal rule that would have shortened these plans is currently not being enforced per the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement.
Texas did not expand Medicaid. Adults earning below the federal poverty level who do not fit a traditional Medicaid category can fall into the coverage gap: too little income for a marketplace subsidy, no Medicaid pathway. For those households, limited-benefit products are sometimes the only affordable option, and an honest agent will call them what they are, not major medical insurance.
Texas uses HealthCare.gov, with open enrollment running November 1 through January 15.
Ready to compare your options? Get a personalized quote from a licensed Texas agent. No pressure and no spam, just straight answers.
Keep reading — more Texas guides
Premium data methodology. 1 Marketplace premium averages reflect the average monthly premium before advance premium tax credits, the average monthly premium after advance premium tax credits among subsidized enrollees, and the percentage of enrollees receiving advance premium tax credits, for Texas, as reported in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files, 2026 plan year, available at cms.gov. Figures are statewide averages across all metal tiers, ages, and household sizes; your premium will differ based on your age, household, income, county, and plan selection.
2 Employer coverage averages reflect the average total monthly premium for single and family coverage at private-sector establishments in Texas, including both employer and employee contributions, as reported in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2024 tables, available at meps.ahrq.gov. Employee contribution figure reflects the average employee share of the single-coverage premium. Employer plan costs vary by employer, plan design, and firm size.
3 Client averages are calculated from GetHealthPlans.com (MTG Insurance Agency LLC) internal book-of-business records as of July 15, 2026 and reflect the median or mean monthly premium, as labeled, among active policies providing individual coverage (one covered person) of the stated product type held by our clients residing in the stated state or, where labeled agency-wide, across all states in which we operate. Family and multi-person policies are excluded so that figures reflect what one person pays. Figures are shown only for states and products where our records include a sufficient number of active individual policies to report a meaningful average, with a minimum of ten; combinations below that threshold are not shown. Where a figure is labeled "median," half of our client policies in that group pay less and half pay more. Our client base reflects the products we sell, skews toward medically underwritten coverage, and may not represent all buyers or all plans available in a state. These figures are historical averages of premiums actually paid by our clients, are not quotes, offers, or projections, and are not statements of what any individual will pay. Individual premiums are determined by the insurer at application based on age, location, term length, benefit selections, and underwriting outcomes.
4 No federal or state agency publishes average premium data for short-term limited duration insurance or fixed indemnity insurance. Where we do not display a client-base figure for these products, it is because we do not have sufficient policy volume in that state to report a meaningful average. Short-term and fixed indemnity products are medically underwritten, are not major medical coverage, are not required to cover pre-existing conditions or essential health benefits, and do not constitute minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
5 Medicaid and CHIP are public programs, not insurance products sold by this agency. Premiums are $0 or nominal for those who qualify; eligibility is determined by your state based on income, household size, and other factors. The figure shown describes program design, not an average. Contact your state Medicaid agency or HealthCare.gov to check eligibility.