Self-employed people in Texas have a couple of options when it comes to health insurance in Texas. They may choose to buy insurance through an individual health insurance company or an HMO. The same types of policies and coverage that are available through employer sponsored plans are available to self-employed people; the difference is that the self-employed person has to pay the full premium themselves.



This usually means that the individual buying health insurance in Texas will have to pay quite a bit more for the same type of coverage. In addition to the fact that employees get part of their premium paid for by their company, they also get a better rate because of being part of a large group. Just like anything else, you get a better deal when buying in bulk.

The choices available for individual health insurance in Texas include: HMO's or managed health care—these individual plans pay for certain medical expenses at a predetermined rate to physicians and hospitals in their network. The biggest drawback of this type of insurance is that you are limited to doctors and hospitals that are in your insurance company's network.

You should also be aware that health insurance companies in Texas may check into your medical history when choosing whether to insure you and what premium to charge you as well. This may seem discriminatory, but it is a common practice among insurance companies. They want to make a profit on you and if you have had a lot of illnesses, they may feel you are too big of a risk and deny your claim or assess you a higher premium to cover their costs.

Your dependents are also eligible for coverage under your individual health insurance in Texas. Dependents include your children and any children that you have custody of. Your children do not have to live with you to be covered under your plan and often non-custodial parents are required to provide health care insurance for their children. You children are eligible to be on your policy until they are 18 unless they are full-time college students and then they can be covered until they are 25. Certain disabilities will enable your children to remain on your policy indefinitely.

Every health insurance company in Texas is a little different. They all cover different things for different amounts and have various co-pays and deductibles. You want to fully understand all the differences before making a purchase decision. Your health and the health of your family depends on the right insurance coverage so you want to choose wisely.

Once you have purchased health insurance in Texas you want to read your policy cover-to-cover and be sure you fully understand your coverage and any exceptions that might apply. Sometimes there are limits of what you can have done in a year and how much you have to spend before your insurance kicks in. Keeping accurate records is also important to be sure you get the coverage you paid for.