Fort Worth builds things. Fighter jets roll out of the west side assembly plants, freight moves through the Alliance corridor north of town, and BNSF runs its national railroad from headquarters here. Manufacturing and logistics jobs often come with solid benefits, but the contractors, owner-operators, and warehouse temp workers orbiting those industries usually buy coverage on their own, and Texas gives them a wide 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 Fort Worth
| 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 Fort Worth residents should treat the individual marketplace benchmark above as the starting number. Subsidies then depend on projected household income and size for the coverage year. Estimates never guarantee eligibility, which is why we run actual numbers before anyone signs.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Fort Worth at a glance
Fort Worth is the fastest growing of America's largest cities in recent years, propelled by aerospace and defense manufacturing, the Alliance logistics hub, and spillover growth from the wider Dallas-Fort Worth economy. Rapid in-migration means a constant flow of new Tarrant County residents sorting out coverage between jobs or after relocating without one.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~918,900 | Tarrant (FIPS 48439) | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington |
Three Fort Worth situations
Dale, 51, owner-operator hauling out of Alliance. He left a company driving job, and the carrier's health plan, two years ago. An extended short-term policy locked in an underwritten rate he can hold for up to 36 months while he decides whether the marketplace makes more sense at the next open enrollment.
Amanda, 33, aerospace machinist on temporary layoff. Her recall date is four months out. COBRA would preserve her exact network, but a short-term plan costs less for a healthy person bridging a known, short gap. She compares both against a marketplace SEP plan before her election deadline.
Joe and Marisol, 44 and 42, run a fencing company in far north Fort Worth. Two kids, income near the subsidy sweet spot. A marketplace family plan with a premium tax credit beats anything underwritten, because Marisol's diabetes would be excluded on any short-term product.
How Texas's rules work
Texas Insurance Code chapter 1509 permits short-term plans with initial terms under 12 months and a 36-month total duration. The Texas Department of Insurance describes this as up to 3 years of coverage. Since the limit lives in state statute, federal turbulence does not change it: the 2024 federal rule that would have imposed much shorter limits is currently not being enforced per the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement.
Texas remains a non-expansion state for Medicaid. If your household income falls below the federal poverty level and you do not fit a traditional Medicaid category, you get no marketplace subsidy either. That coverage gap is worth planning around, especially for business owners whose taxable income swings year to year.
Texans enroll through HealthCare.gov, November 1 through January 15, or by qualifying event the rest of the year.
Get your Fort Worth numbers. One call with a licensed Texas agent, every option priced, no pressure to buy.
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.