Midland is the office headquarters of the Permian Basin, where the oil and gas industry sets the rhythm for nearly everything, including health coverage. When prices run hot, operators hire and benefits flow. When they cool, layoffs come fast, and hundreds of households discover on the same week that their group plan has an end date. Texas rules give those households real bridge options.
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 Midland
| 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 Midlanders, including the many consultants and landmen working on 1099 terms, start from the individual marketplace benchmark above. Subsidy eligibility depends on projected household income and size for the year, high oilfield incomes often price out of subsidies entirely, and only a real calculation settles it. Estimates are never guarantees.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Midland at a glance
Midland pairs with Odessa twenty miles west to form the urban core of the Permian Basin, with Midland holding more of the corporate offices, engineering firms, and professional services that support the field. Household incomes here run well above the Texas average in boom years, which changes the subsidy math for many buyers, and the workforce includes a deep bench of independent contractors.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~133,000 | Midland (FIPS 48329) | Midland |
Three Midland situations
Chase, 31, completions consultant on 1099 contracts. He earns well but has zero benefits. Subsidies are unlikely at his income, so he weighs an unsubsidized marketplace plan against an extended short-term policy. Healthy, no prescriptions, and comfortable with the exclusions, he may reasonably choose the underwritten product for up to 36 months.
Melissa, 46, laid off from an operator's land department. Her severance includes 60 days of continued coverage, then COBRA at full cost. Losing coverage is a qualifying event, so she can compare COBRA against a Special Enrollment Period marketplace plan while the window is open, not after it closes.
Grady, 60, pumper with a knee replacement scheduled. Underwriting would treat the knee as pre-existing and exclude it. Only a marketplace plan covers the surgery, so his entire strategy is getting enrolled at the next available window and confirming his surgeon is in network first.
How the Texas statute works
Texas Insurance Code chapter 1509 sets short-term limits at an initial term under 12 months and a total duration of 36 months, which the Texas Department of Insurance describes as up to 3 years. The 2024 federal attempt to shorten these plans is currently not being enforced per the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement, and state law is the binding constraint in any case.
Texas did not expand Medicaid. Boom-and-bust cycles make this concrete in the Basin: an adult who goes from a strong year to almost no income can fall below the federal poverty level and, with no traditional Medicaid category, into the coverage gap where no subsidy applies. Projecting full-year income honestly, including severance and final paychecks, is the difference between a subsidized plan and no help at all.
Enrollment runs on HealthCare.gov from November 1 through January 15.
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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.