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1099 Health Insurance in Texas: What Can You Actually Buy With No Employer, and What Does It Cost?
Written and reviewed by Dick Tracy, licensed health insurance broker (NPN 20414610) · Published October 2, 2026
Quick answer With no employer in Texas, you buy your own health insurance, and a 40-year-old pays an average of $426 a month for the lowest-cost Bronze marketplace plan and $661 for the benchmark Silver in 2026, before any subsidy. That is one door of four. Texas also allows private plans priced on your health with a true PPO, fixed-benefit plans, and a pre-established ERISA group plan you can join solo. If you are healthy and your income is over the subsidy cliff, $62,600 for one person, the private doors often cost less. If you are self-employed, medical premiums are usually deductible on your federal return. I educate, you decide.
I'm Dick Tracy, a health insurance broker. I'm not local, and I won't pretend to be. My office is in Buffalo, New York. I'm licensed in Texas (NPN 20414610), one of 25 states I hold a license in, and I work with 80+ carriers. I work with Texans on the phone or on Zoom, with the plan documents on the screen. I came from the healthcare side of this business, so there's no gag clause on me. You get the tips, the tricks, and the traps.
in 2024, the highest of any state
Texas, age 40, 2026, per month
for a household of one
Uninsured: KFF, health insurance coverage of the total population, 2024; the US rate was 8.2%. Premium: KFF analysis of healthcare.gov data, 2026 plan year, before any subsidy. Cliff: 400% of the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines, which set the credit for 2026 coverage.
Health insurance without an employer in Texas: who this page is for
A W-2 job comes with an HR department, a plan somebody else picked, and a premium that leaves your paycheck before you see it. A 1099 comes with none of that. If you freelance, consult, drive for an app, sell real estate on commission, or run a truck leased on to a carrier, you are the HR department. Healthcare.gov's own wording is simple: the marketplace is open to "a freelancer, consultant, independent contractor, or other self-employed worker who doesn't have any employees," per its self-employed coverage page.
Texas is where this goes wrong most often. 16.8% of Texans had no health insurance in 2024, about double the national rate of 8.2%, per KFF. Another 4.17 million Texans picked a marketplace plan for 2026, about 18% of all marketplace sign-ups in the country, per the KFF 2026 open enrollment snapshot. So most people on a 1099 here end up in one of two places: the marketplace, or nothing. Nobody showed them the other doors.
This page answers three questions for the 1099 crowd: what you can buy, what it costs, and what you can deduct. If you have employees, or you want the step-by-step version, the deeper guide is Health insurance in Texas for self-employed people.
Health insurance for an independent contractor in Texas: the four doors
Texas is not New York. Texas allows private plans outside the marketplace that are medically underwritten, which means the carrier can look at your health and price you on it. For a healthy person that is good news. Here are the doors, in the order I open them.
Door 1: a private plan priced on your health, with a true PPO
These plans ask health questions. If you pass, your rate reflects you and not the sickest person in a pool. The networks are the big national PPO networks, the PHCS and MultiPlan type, so a consultant who lives in Austin and takes a six-month contract in Dallas is not locked to one hospital system. Many of these plans are guaranteed renewable: once you are in, the carrier cannot drop you for getting sick. For a healthy 1099 worker over the subsidy cliff, this is the first door I open.
Fits: healthy, no subsidy coming, wants to pick doctors. Does not fit: anyone with a condition that fails the questions. That is why Door 3 exists.
Door 2: a fixed-benefit plan (what I call the red bucket)
A fixed-benefit plan pays a set dollar amount per service: this much for an office visit, this much per hospital day, this much for a surgery. There is no network. You can pay cash at any clinic, hand in the itemized receipt with the codes on it, and the carrier sends you a check. Texas allows these, and the premiums usually run well under a major-medical plan. They also get oversold. It is a foundation, not a roof.
Fits: healthy people on a tight budget who shop for care the way they shop for everything else. Does not fit: anyone expecting a big surgery year who wants one plan to carry the whole load.
Door 3: the healthcare.gov marketplace
Texas uses the federal marketplace. It takes everyone with no health questions, and your health cannot change the price, and it is the only place a premium tax credit lives. Those are real advantages for the right person. The trade-offs are real too. The price is set by the whole pool, not by you. Many Texas marketplace plans are HMOs or EPOs, where you have to stay in the network; here is how the plan types differ. And the credit is built on an income guess, which I cover below.
Fits: anyone with steady income between the poverty line ($15,650 for one person) and the cliff, and anyone whose health rules out underwriting. Below the poverty line there is generally no credit in Texas (healthcare.gov). Watch: the network, and the income guess.
Door 4: a pre-established ERISA group plan you join solo
ERISA is a federal law from 1974 that governs employer benefit plans. Group plans already exist under it, and a one-person business can be merged into one. You get group rates, a true PPO network, and a policy you own. No payroll, no employees, and one simple compliance step I walk you through. The policy follows you from client to client. Here is the full breakdown.
Fits: 1099 workers who want a group-style PPO and a price that does not move when their income does. Often the winner when a spouse and kids are going on too.
One more layer if you drive for a living or work with your hands: an accident plan pays you cash per injury, on top of whatever the medical plan does. A 1099 has no sick pay. Here is how I stack the layers for gig workers and contractors.
How much is 1099 health insurance in Texas?
Here are the published anchors. For a 40-year-old buying on their own in 2026, before any subsidy:
| 2026 marketplace average (age 40, before any subsidy) | Texas | US average |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest-cost Bronze plan | $426/month | $456/month |
| Benchmark Silver plan | $661/month | $625/month |
| Lowest-cost Gold plan | $570/month | $615/month |
Source: KFF analysis of healthcare.gov data, 2026 plan year.
Those are pool prices. The marketplace cannot ask whether you are a healthy 40-year-old graphic designer or a 40-year-old with three prescriptions, so both pay the same. On an underwritten plan off the marketplace, a healthy person is priced on their own health, and the averages stop applying. Your real number moves with five things: age, county, tobacco use, the network you pick, and whether the plan is underwritten. Give me those five and I will give you real numbers from real carriers. Anybody who quotes your premium without asking is guessing.
What about 2027? Texas carriers have filed their proposed 2027 rates. ACA Signups, which tracks the filings, put the weighted average requested increase for individual market plans at 14.1% as of August 28, 2026, across 17 carriers, with requests running from about 1% to about 34% (ACA Signups, Texas 2027 rate changes). Those are requests, not final approved rates. I will update this page when final numbers are published.
And about "cheapest." The cheapest plan is the one that costs least on the day nothing happens. The best plan is the one that costs least on the day something does. What kind of tank should we build? That is the question to ask before you ask about premium.
Freelancer health insurance in Texas: the income guess and the 2026 cliff
A marketplace credit is built on a guess. Healthcare.gov says savings are "based on your estimated net income for the year you're getting coverage, not last year's income" (healthcare.gov). For a freelancer that means net profit, not gross receipts, for a year that has not happened yet. For 2026 the enhanced subsidies are gone, the cliff at 400% of the poverty level is back, and there is no longer a cap on paying back a credit you were not entitled to. Here is the full story on the 2026 cliff.
| Household size | Poverty guideline (100%) | 2026 subsidy cliff (400%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $15,650 | $62,600 |
| 2 people | $21,150 | $84,600 |
| 3 people | $26,650 | $106,600 |
| 4 people | $32,150 | $128,600 |
Source: 2025 HHS poverty guidelines, Federal Register, 48 contiguous states. Credits for 2026 coverage use the 2025 guidelines. The 400% column is my arithmetic.
This is where the math doesn't math for a lot of 1099 people. A good year costs you the credit. A freelancer who projects $55,000 in January and lands a big client in June can cross $62,600 and owe every dollar back in April. Before you count on a credit, run your numbers on the free 2026 subsidy cliff calculator and the Texas subsidy estimate. The MAGI calculator shows which income number counts. A plan that does not care what you earn, Door 1 or Door 4, takes the guess out of it.
Private health insurance in Texas: what an underwritten plan asks
People call anything that does not come from a job "private health insurance." The Texas Department of Insurance uses a different word: "Insurance you buy directly from a company or the marketplace is called individual insurance" (TDI health care coverage guide). On this page, private means the underwritten plans sold off the marketplace.
Underwriting means an application with health questions. Expect questions about your health history, the medications you take, your height and weight, and tobacco use. The carrier can approve you, price you up, or decline you. Answer every question straight. If you pass, you get a rate built on you and, on Door 1, a national PPO. TDI describes a PPO this way: "You can go to any doctor you choose, but your out-of-pocket costs will be lower if you use doctors in the PPO's network."
Here is the honest part. If you have a recent serious diagnosis, the underwritten doors may be closed, and the marketplace is your door for now. ACA plans cannot ask. TDI says insurers "can't deny you coverage or charge you more because of a preexisting condition." Take the guaranteed coverage, get well, and we look again later.
What can a 1099 worker in Texas deduct?
The self-employed health insurance deduction. No itemizing required. It is figured on IRS Form 7206 and lands on Schedule 1 of your Form 1040, line 17. Here is what the form says, in plain English:
- What counts: medical, dental, and qualified long-term care premiums (capped by age) for you, your spouse, your dependents, and a child under age 27 at the end of the year.
- The cap: the deduction cannot be more than the net profit of the business the plan is set up under, after you subtract the deductible part of your self-employment tax and your SEP, SIMPLE, or qualified plan contributions.
- The month rule: you cannot count any month you were eligible for a plan subsidized by your employer, your spouse's employer, or the employer of your dependent or your child under 27. Eligible, not enrolled.
- No double dipping: a premium you deduct here is not also a medical expense on Schedule A, and the deduction does not lower your self-employment tax.
- If you take a premium tax credit: the IRS sends you to Publication 974 for a separate calculation.
Source: IRS Instructions for Form 7206 and the form itself, tax year 2025. This is what the form says, not tax advice. Confirm with your tax professional.
Texas has no state income tax, so the savings are federal. Run your number on the free self-employed health insurance deduction calculator. And keep it in proportion. A better-priced plan saves you money twelve months a year. The deduction only gives some of it back in April.
Which door is for me?
Healthy, income over the cliff, no subsidy coming
Door 1 first, then price Door 4 against it. A private underwritten PPO often beats an unsubsidized marketplace plan on both price and network. If the family is going on, the ERISA group plan can pull ahead.
Healthy, income under the cliff, and steady
Door 3, and check the network. If your income is low and predictable, a subsidized marketplace plan may be your best deal. Let me check the math before you decide either way.
Income swings from a lean year to a big year
Door 1 or Door 4. A plan that does not care what you earn is worth a lot when your year is unpredictable. If you take a credit anyway, estimate honestly. 2026 has no cap on paying it back.
A recent serious diagnosis, or a condition that would fail health questions
Door 3, for now. The marketplace cannot turn you down or charge you more. Take it, get well, and we revisit the other doors later.
Just left a W-2 job and holding a COBRA packet
Price Door 1 or Door 4 before you elect. COBRA can charge you up to 102% of the full premium, your share plus the share your employer was paying. Here is what COBRA costs in Texas, and why it is usually the most expensive door in the building.
Tight budget, healthy, rarely see a doctor
Door 2, with eyes open. A fixed-benefit plan is a foundation, not a roof. Pair it with something that handles the big day.
Spouse has a group plan through their job
Look before you leap. The employer owns the rights to that coverage, and one layoff puts the whole family out shopping at once. Also know the month rule above: if you are eligible for your spouse's employer plan, your own premiums do not qualify for the deduction that month.
Common questions about 1099 health insurance in Texas
Can I get health insurance in Texas without an employer?
Yes. Nobody needs a W-2 or an employer to get covered in Texas. About 4.17 million Texans picked a marketplace plan on their own for 2026, per KFF, and the marketplace is only one of four doors. Texas also allows private plans priced on your health with a true PPO network, fixed-benefit plans that pay set dollar amounts per service, and a pre-established ERISA group plan a one-person business can be merged into. Which door fits depends on your health, your income, and how you use care. Being told the marketplace is the only option is the most common bad advice I hear from 1099 workers.
How much does 1099 health insurance cost in Texas?
For a 40-year-old in 2026, the published Texas marketplace averages are $426 a month for the lowest-cost Bronze plan, $661 for the benchmark Silver plan, and $570 for the lowest-cost Gold plan, before any subsidy, per KFF's analysis of healthcare.gov data. Those prices cannot ask about your health, so a healthy freelancer and one with three prescriptions pay the same. Off the marketplace, Texas allows medically underwritten plans, and a healthy person over the subsidy cliff often pays less on a privately underwritten plan. Your real number depends on age, county, tobacco use, network, and whether the plan is underwritten.
What health insurance can a freelancer get in Texas?
A freelancer in Texas has four doors. One, a private plan that asks health questions and prices you on your own health, usually with a national PPO network. Two, a fixed-benefit plan that pays a set dollar amount per service. Three, the healthcare.gov marketplace, which takes everyone and is the only place a premium tax credit lives. Healthcare.gov says freelancers, consultants, and independent contractors with no employees can use it. Four, a pre-established ERISA group plan that a solo business owner can be merged into, with no payroll and no employees. Most freelancers I talk to were only ever shown door three.
Is private health insurance in Texas cheaper than a marketplace plan?
It depends on your health and your income. A marketplace plan charges everyone the same price for the same age and county, and for 2026 the premium tax credit stops at 400% of the poverty level, which is $62,600 for one person and $128,600 for a household of four. If you are healthy and over that line, a privately underwritten plan often costs less than an unsubsidized marketplace plan, because it prices you on your own health. If you are under the line, a subsidized marketplace plan can be hard to beat. If you have a serious condition, the underwritten plan may decline you. Run both before you pick.
Can an independent contractor in Texas deduct health insurance premiums?
Usually, yes. The self-employed health insurance deduction covers medical, dental, and qualified long-term care premiums for you, your spouse, your dependents, and a child under age 27. It is figured on IRS Form 7206 and claimed on Schedule 1 of Form 1040, line 17, with no itemizing. It cannot be more than the net profit of the business the plan is set up under, after subtracting the deductible part of your self-employment tax and your self-employed retirement contributions. You cannot count any month you were eligible for a plan subsidized by your employer, your spouse's employer, or the employer of your dependent or your child under 27. Confirm with your tax professional.
What income is too high for a health insurance subsidy in Texas in 2026?
For 2026 coverage, the premium tax credit ends at 400% of the federal poverty level. That is $62,600 for one person, $84,600 for two, $106,600 for three, and $128,600 for a household of four, based on the 2025 HHS poverty guidelines. One dollar over and the whole credit is gone, and there is no longer a cap on paying back a credit you were not entitled to. For a 1099 worker the number that counts is net income for the coverage year, not gross receipts and not last year. If your income swings, a plan that does not care what you earn is worth a hard look.
When can a self-employed person sign up for health insurance in Texas?
For a marketplace plan, open enrollment starts November 1, and December 15 is the last day to enroll for coverage that starts January 1, per healthcare.gov. Outside that window you need a qualifying life event. The Texas Department of Insurance says you can buy at other times only if you lose your coverage or have a life change. Privately underwritten plans and fixed-benefit plans work differently. They are not tied to that window and can usually be started in any month, as long as you pass the health questions. That matters when your last W-2 job ends in March.
What if I am on a 1099 in Texas and have a serious health condition?
Then the marketplace is your door, for now. A plan that asks health questions can decline you or price you up, and I will not pretend otherwise. An ACA marketplace plan cannot. The Texas Department of Insurance puts it plainly: insurers can't deny you coverage or charge you more because of a preexisting condition. Take the guaranteed coverage, get the care you need, and we look at the other doors again if your health picture changes. That is arithmetic, not judgment. A broker who pushes an underwritten plan on someone who just got a serious diagnosis is not doing the job.
Are Texas health insurance rates going up in 2027?
The requests say yes. Texas carriers have filed their proposed 2027 rates, and ACA Signups, which tracks the filings, put the weighted average requested increase for individual market plans at 14.1% as of August 28, 2026, across 17 carriers. Individual requests ran from about 1% to about 34%. Those are requested rates, not final approved ones, and your own change depends on your carrier, plan, and county. A rate increase hits hardest for people over the subsidy cliff, because they pay the full price. That is one more reason to price the private doors before you auto-renew.
Thirty minutes on the phone or Zoom, no fee, no hard sell. Bring your age, county, tobacco status, a rough income range, and how you use care. I price the doors that fit you from the carriers I work with and put them side by side. I educate, you decide.
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Health insurance broker · NPN 20414610 · Licensed in 25 states · 80+ carriers · Buffalo, NY
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