The refineries and petrochemical plants along the Houston Ship Channel define Pasadena's economy, and the plants run on two kinds of workers: permanent operators with strong benefits, and the turnaround contractors who surge in for maintenance seasons and leave when the unit restarts. The second group carries its own coverage or goes without, and Texas law shapes what carrying your own looks like.
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 Pasadena
| 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 Pasadena residents and independent plant contractors start from the marketplace benchmark above. Subsidies hinge on projected annual household income and size; turnaround pay concentrated in a few months can distort a projection, so build it on the full year. No estimate is a guarantee of eligibility.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Pasadena at a glance
Pasadena is one of Harris County's largest cities, stretched between the Ship Channel industrial corridor on its north end and quieter residential neighborhoods running south toward Fairmont Parkway. Generations of families here have worked the plants, and the city's workforce includes a heavy concentration of craft trades, from pipefitters and welders to scaffold crews, many of them on contract terms.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~152,000 | Harris (FIPS 48201) | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land |
Three Pasadena situations
Omar, 42, pipefitter working turnarounds. He might earn most of the year's income in two intense seasons. An extended short-term plan holds continuous coverage between projects for up to 36 months in Texas, though the old shoulder injury in his chart would typically be excluded, and he accepts that trade knowingly.
Brianna, 30, plant lab tech starting a new position. Ninety days until benefits begin. A short-term policy covers the probation period, and because her new group plan is guaranteed issue, the underwritten bridge carries no long-term consequence for her.
Manny and Rosa, 57 and 55, food truck owners near Strawberry Road. Rosa's diabetes rules out underwritten products at any price worth paying. A marketplace plan covers her condition without exclusions, and their projected business income determines whether subsidies bring the premium down from the sticker figure in the table.
The rules behind the products
Texas Insurance Code chapter 1509 authorizes short-term plans with initial terms under 12 months and total duration up to 36 months. The Texas Department of Insurance describes them as lasting up to 3 years. Federal regulators tried to cap these plans in 2024; that rule is currently not being enforced per the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement, and the Texas statute governs regardless.
Texas also stands among the states that did not expand Medicaid. Adults below the federal poverty level who do not fit a traditional Medicaid category fall into the coverage gap, without Medicaid and without subsidy. Households cycling between strong turnaround seasons and lean stretches should project the full year before assuming they qualify for help, or that they do not.
Marketplace enrollment runs November 1 through January 15 on HealthCare.gov.
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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.