Baylor University is the signature employer in McLennan County, but the tourism wave that followed the Magnolia development reshaped Waco's job base toward hospitality and small retail. Those jobs rarely come with benefits attached. Sitting at the midpoint of the I-35 corridor between Dallas and Austin, Waco also collects a steady flow of relocators and startups, and most of them shop for coverage on their own.
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 Waco
| 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 |
For self-employed Waco residents, the individual marketplace benchmark above is the starting point. Whether a subsidy applies depends on your projected household income and family size, and no estimate is a guarantee; a licensed agent can check your actual eligibility.
Averages from federal data and our own client base, not quotes. Your price depends on your age, household, income, and plan choice.
Waco at a glance
Waco's economy blends a large university payroll with tourism, health care, and a manufacturing base that benefits from cheap land on the I-35 corridor. The visitor boom of the last decade created thousands of hospitality and food service jobs, a workforce that leans heavily on the individual insurance market because part-time and seasonal schedules seldom qualify for group plans.
| Population | County | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| ~138,500 | McLennan (FIPS 48309) | Waco |
Three Waco situations
Jordan, 26, barista and part-time musician. He ages off his parents' plan this year, which is a qualifying event with its own enrollment window. With modest income, a subsidized marketplace plan may cost less per month than his phone bill, and it covers him if a gig injury turns into surgery.
Priya, 44, owns a food trailer near the riverfront. Her income swings with the seasons and she missed open enrollment. A short-term plan bridges her to November; because Texas allows renewals up to 36 months total, she is not forced to re-shop every 90 days the way she would be in stricter states.
Tom, 61, semi-retired contractor with a heart stent. Underwriting will exclude or decline his history, so short-term coverage is the wrong tool. A marketplace plan takes him as he is, and his reduced income likely qualifies him for a meaningful subsidy until Medicare at 65.
How Texas's rules work
Under Texas Insurance Code chapter 1509, a short-term plan may run an initial term under 12 months and be renewed to a total duration of 36 months; the Texas Department of Insurance describes this as up to 3 years. State law controls here. The 2024 federal rule that would have shortened these plans is currently not being enforced under the August 7, 2025 tri-agency statement, so the Texas limit is the one that matters in practice.
Texas has not expanded Medicaid, and that creates a real gap at the bottom of the income scale. An adult earning below the federal poverty level, with no dependent children and no disability, generally gets neither Medicaid nor a marketplace subsidy. Fixed indemnity and supplemental products can put some protection in place for those households, with the honest caveat that they pay limited cash benefits rather than covering care the way major medical does.
Open enrollment on HealthCare.gov runs November 1 through January 15 for Texas.
Ready for a straight answer on price? A licensed Texas agent can compare your marketplace and short-term options side by side. No cost to talk.
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.