Texas Association of Health Plans

Employer-sponsored health coverage remains the largest source of health insurance coverage in Texas, covering approximately 15.4 million Texans. Understanding how employer coverage works is important for employees, employers, and policymakers alike.

If you're healthy, it's easy to wonder why you even need health insurance. Here's the reality: a single ER visit can cost $3,000 or more.

A hospital stay? Tens of thousands of dollars.

Health insurance isn't just about routine care; it's financial protection for the unexpected. For millions of Texas families, that safety net is everything.

TAHP member health plans serve Texans across employer coverage, Medicaid, and the marketplace, working to keep that coverage accessible and affordable.

Whether you've had your plan for years or you're shopping for the first time, know how to use it.

Visit tahp.org to learn more.

Home Page - Texas Association of Health Plans Articles written by TAHP’s team of policy experts that examine the research, trends, and impact of the most important health care policy issues facing Texas and the country today.

Most Texans with employer coverage are already in plans free from expensive Texas health insurance mandates. Their coverage is just as comprehensive, but often costs 19% less. Meanwhile, small employers and their workers are stuck on the other side, paying some of the highest premiums in the country.

Small Employers Are Paying for Texas’s Mandate Problem - Texas Association of Health Plans Part of TAHP's Affordability Series: What's Driving Up the Cost of Coverage What’s new: Most Texans with employer coverage are already in plans free from expensive Texas health insurance mandates. Their coverage is just as comprehensive, but often costs 19% less. Meanwhile, small employers and the...

Some providers are starting to offer real upfront prices.

Insurers are building plans that reward Texans for choosing the lower-cost, same-quality setting, including coverage models that cover shoppable services at a set price.

But more can be done.

In too many cases, providers can charge more simply because patients cannot see prices and have no incentive to shop around.

As a result, the same blood draw, the same scan, and the same follow-up visit can carry very different prices.

The problem is that when patients end up in the most expensive setting, the bill can double for identical care.

The biggest untapped opportunity to bring those health care costs down is not a new drug or a new technology.

It’s giving patients the tools and incentives to be smart shoppers. It is helping Texans get the same care they need at a more affordable price.

Shifting routine care to the right place could save the U.S. health system $471 billion over the next decade and lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs for every Texan.

💚 Texas Mutual Insurance Company is investing $8 million in 2026 community grants to support nonprofits serving Texas businesses, families, and communities.

Community Funding | Texas Mutual To support Texas communities, businesses and working families, Texas Mutual is committing $4 million through two Request for Proposal (RFP) initiatives in 2022.

Health care fraud is under a national spotlight. In the past year, the federal government has charged 324 defendants in the largest health care fraud takedown in U.S. history, and CMS launched a new initiative to stop fraudulent billing before it happens.

Health Care Fraud Is Wasting Billions. Texas Can Strengthen Tools to Stop It. - Texas Association of Health Plans Part of TAHP's Affordability Series: What's Driving Up the Cost of Coverage What's new: Health care fraud is under a national spotlight. In the past year, the federal government has charged 324 defendants in the largest health care fraud takedown in U.S. history, and CMS launched a new initiative to...

Health care costs are now Americans’ number one concern. Hospital prices are a major reason why. Hospital spending drove 40% of health care spending growth from 2022 to 2024.

Addressing Affordability Starts with Hospital Prices - Texas Association of Health Plans Part of TAHP's Affordability Series: What's Driving Up the Cost of Coverage What's new: Health care costs are now Americans' number one concern. Hospital prices are a major reason why. Hospital spending drove 40% of health care spending growth from 2022 to 2024. Keep it simple: When hospitals charge...