Small business is Carrollton's signature. The city's warehouse districts, family-run shops, and the Korean business corridor along Old Denton Road are full of owners who never see a benefits department. When the shop is the family and the family is the payroll, health coverage is a purchase you make yourself, and Texas offers that buyer more product range than most states.
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 Carrollton
| 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 |
A self-employed Carrollton owner prices from the individual marketplace benchmark above. Business income after expenses drives the subsidy calculation, and that figure is often lower than owners expect, which can turn a full-price plan into a subsidized one. Estimates are not guarantees; have a licensed agent run it.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Carrollton at a glance
Carrollton is an inner-ring Dallas suburb with a strong industrial and distribution base and one of the metro's most established Korean American business districts. DART's Green Line connects the city into Dallas, and its workforce mixes warehouse operations with thousands of small storefront enterprises.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~133,000 | Dallas (FIPS 48113) | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington |
Three Carrollton situations
Mr. Kim, 54, owns a restaurant with his wife on the payroll. Group coverage for a staff of eight is beyond the budget, so the two of them buy individually. Their after-expense income lands in subsidy range more years than not. A marketplace plan also covers his hypertension without exclusions, which no underwritten product will do.
Danielle, 36, runs an e-commerce business from a leased warehouse space. Healthy, income above subsidy range. She holds an extended short-term plan at an underwritten rate for up to 36 months and banks the difference, knowing the plan is not ACA compliant and would not cover a condition she developed before buying it.
Vinh, 29, between jobs after a logistics company downsized. His COBRA quote is steep. Losing coverage opened a 60-day Special Enrollment Period, and with reduced income this year his subsidy may be substantial. If the math still fails, a short-term bridge to his next job costs less than going uncovered.
How Texas's rules work
The state's short-term framework lives in Texas Insurance Code chapter 1509: initial terms under 12 months, total duration up to 36 months, which TDI characterizes as up to 3 years. Federal policy does not override it; the 2024 federal rule that would have imposed shorter limits is currently not being enforced per the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement, and state law is the binding constraint either way.
Texas did not expand Medicaid, so adults below the federal poverty level without dependent children typically have no Medicaid option and no subsidy, the coverage gap. For a small business family whose paper income dips in a bad year, that quirk makes accurate income projection more than paperwork.
Texans use HealthCare.gov, with open enrollment from November 1 to January 15.
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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.