Two public universities sit inside Denton's city limits, and between the University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University the town carries an unusually deep bench of adjuncts, graduate assistants, and working musicians. Those are classic individual-market buyers. Full-time university staff have state group benefits; nearly everyone else orbiting the campuses is on their own, and Texas gives them a wide product menu.
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 Denton
| 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 Denton residents work from the individual marketplace benchmark above. Subsidies follow household income and size for the year, and nothing is guaranteed until the application runs. A licensed agent can pin down what your projection actually earns you.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Denton at a glance
Denton anchors the northern corner of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro and is best known for its two universities and a live music tradition that punches far above the city's size. The student and creative economy generates steady coverage turnover, while commuters increasingly connect south to jobs across the metro.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~140,000 | Denton (FIPS 48121) | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington |
Three Denton situations
Sarah, 33, adjunct at both universities. Two course loads, zero benefit eligibility. Her combined income is modest, so a marketplace subsidy likely does the heavy lifting, and the plan covers her migraines without an underwriter's exclusion.
Diego, 27, session guitarist and bartender. Cash-heavy, variable income. His risk is projecting too low: below the federal poverty level, Texas's non-expansion rules could leave him with no subsidy at all. Documenting all his income to clear 100 percent of the poverty level is what turns him from uninsurable-on-paper into heavily subsidized.
Janet, 56, left a district IT job to consult. Income now above subsidy range, health excellent. She weighs the unsubsidized benchmark against an extended short-term plan that holds an underwritten rate for up to 36 months. Every open enrollment she rechecks, because one new prescription changes the calculus.
How Texas's rules work
Insurance Code chapter 1509 is the Texas rulebook for short-term coverage: initial terms under 12 months, renewable to 36 months total, which TDI describes as up to 3 years. State statute, not federal grace, sets that ceiling. The 2024 federal rule that would have compressed the product is currently not being enforced per the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement.
Medicaid non-expansion is the other Texas fact worth knowing. Adults under the federal poverty level with no dependent children usually get neither Medicaid nor a subsidy, the coverage gap. Students and part-time workers with thin documented income hit this more than any other group in a town like Denton.
Enrollment runs on HealthCare.gov from November 1 through 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.