Looking to find the best individual medical health insurance options in Houston to use with an ICHRA? You’re in the right place – and there’s great news! The individual coverage HRA (ICHRA for brief) takes off where you live, thanks to a vibrant local individual medical health insurance market. Which means more ACA-compliant, high quality medical health insurance choices for employees.
| We’ve put together this informative guide to assist employees orient themselves towards the local individual medical health insurance market in Houston to make use of with their Individual Coverage HRA. Health insurance can be confusing, and lots of employees offered an ICHRA will be buying their insurance the very first time. We’ve got you covered! |
Who this guide is perfect for:
- Employees shopping for health insurance to use using their ICHRA
- Employers attempting to help their employees make educated decisions regarding their health intends to use using their ICHRA
- Employers associated with a size considering implementing an ICHRA
What this guides covers:
What is definitely an ICHRA?
First things first. An Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA, for brief) is really a fundamentally new type of benefits that enables employers to set aside tax-free dollars to reimburse employees for health plan premiums that individuals choose themselves. That means employees get to select the right arrange for their loved ones, their own health needs, as well as their budget.
2022 Houston individual medical health insurance choices for ICHRA
Houston is constantly on the trend like a leading city for ICHRA, thanks to a competitive individual health insurance market with three new carriers for 2022.
This develops a continuing trend, signaling the and affordability of the baby health insurance market. More and more employers in Houston are realizing their benefits dollars stretch further on the individual health insurance market instead of group plans, and this brings ample employee benefits too, like personalization and choice.
Disclaimer: These rates are estimates for Houston in 2022 within the 77084 zipcode. Your premiums can vary and that we expect slight changes for 2022. See our window shopping tool to check on for exact premium rates in your town.
Market Snapshot
Houston’s competitive individual health insurance market and innovative carrier lineup mean more selections for employees. The infographic below demonstrates the number of carriers, network types, and average cheapest premiums by tier.
Pro-tip: To calculate costs for adding a spouse or family to a plan, use double the rate for married, or triple for families.
Houston employees have nine carriers and more than 100 plans to select from. There’s something for everyone.
Disclaimer: Plan information is according to 77084, probably the most populated zipcode in Houston. Rates will be different by zip code and county.
Remember, all the plans listed here are ACA-compliant, meaning they cover pre-existing conditions and 10 essential benefits. These benefits include coverage with no annual cap for the following:
- Ambulatory patient services (outpatient services)
- Emergency services
- Hospitalization
- Maternity and newborn care
- Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment
- Prescription drugs
- Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
- Laboratory services
- Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management
- Pediatric services, including oral and vision care
Have questions? Get in contact.Employees: If you are a employee seeking to sign up for individual health insurance in Houston to make use of with your ICHRA, our enrollment team is standing around the ready to help. You can set up a call with enrollment team here. Business owners: If you’re a business owner and have questions regarding ICHRA, please schedule a time to talk with our HRA Design team to find out if ICHRA is a great fit for you. Brokers: If you’re an agent considering ICHRA being an choice for a client, submit an HRA Design request to ascertain if this is an excellent fit for your client. |
The lineup: Houston’s best individual health insurance carriers to make use of with ICHRA
Houston, Texas has nine individual insurance companies to choose from.
These include (in alphabetical order):
- Aetna (new for 2022!)
- Ambetter
- BlueCross BlueShield of Texas
- Bright Healthcare (new for 2022!)
- Community Health Choice
- Friday Health Plans
- Molina
- Oscar
- United Healthcare (new for 2022!)
Here’s a Houston health insurance infographic for a quick visual.
| Aetna | Ambetter | BlueCross BlueShield of Texas | Bright Healthcare | Community Health Choice | Friday Health Plans | Molina | Oscar | United Healthcare | |
| Recommended for ICHRA | |||||||||
| Easy Enroll options | |||||||||
| AutoPay eligible | |||||||||
| Off-exchange options |
*Autopay is really a new feature on our platform that allows employers to take advantage of ICHRA and all sorts of its benefits without asking their employees to pay premiums out of pocket and wait for reimbursements.
One simple payment per month that covers all of the reimbursements for insurance costs (and medical expenses) for those employees. Our platform will manage the payments for employees’ health advantages, reconciling their premiums and allowance with payroll. Learn more here.
*Easy Enroll is a plan feature that enables employees around the Take Command platform to sign up directly in the portal without any further steps needed. This is the simplest kind of intend to choose.
*Off-exchange options are essential for employees that select a plan that costs a lot more than their allowance, since they’ll have to place in a few of their own money to pay for the main difference. That difference could be tax-free when combined with a piece 125 payroll deduction only for off-exchange plans (because of some ACA restrictions).
Here’s another handy infographic that includes some of our favorite reasons for each individual health insurance carrier in Houston.
How much does individual medical health insurance cost in Houston per carrier?
While 2022 rates haven’t been released yet, these are the cheapest plans per metal tier for 2022 for each carrier in Houston. We expect those to change only slightly from this past year. We will update this section as new details are released for 2022.
Note: The below minute rates are 2022 estimates according to Houston zipcode 77084 only.
What we like:
- 24-hour, $0 telehealth
- Gym discounts, eating healthily discounts (Home Chef)
- Healthy Decision points you can use for a variety of benefits
- Easy Enroll options
- AutoPay eligible
What we don’t love:
- Frustrating customer service
Lowest cost by metal tier for Ambetter in Houston
| Age | Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| 20 | $270 | $240 | $300 |
| 30 | $320 | $280 | $360 |
| 40 | $360 | $310 | $400 |
| 50 | $500 | $430 | $560 |
| 60 | $760 | $660 | $850 |
What we like:
- Blue365 program with gym, products, hearing and vision perks
- Telehealth includes behavioral and mental well being visits
- Free health coaching with local coaches
- Easy Enroll options
- AutoPay eligible
- Recommended for ICHRA
Lowest cost by metal tier for BlueCross BlueShield of Texas in Houston
|
Age |
Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| 20 | $220 | $290 | $290 |
| 30 | $260 | $340 | $340 |
| 40 | $290 | $380 | $390 |
| 50 | $410 | $530 | $600 |
| 60 | $620 | $810 | $820 |
What we love:
- 10% savings on premiums for members
Lowest cost by metal tier for Community Health Choice in Houston
|
Age |
Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| 20 | $290 | $370 | $370 |
| 30 | $340 | $440 | $440 |
| 40 | $380 | $490 | $490 |
| 50 | $430 | $690 | $690 |
| 60 | $810 | $1,040 | $1,040 |
What we like:
- Unlimited in-network $0 visits to the doctor and virtual doctor visits on most plans
- Free mental health visits
- Easy Enroll options
- AutoPay eligible
- Recommended for ICHRA
Lowest cost by metal tier for Friday Health Plans in Houston
|
Age |
Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| 20 | $190 | $300 | $280 |
| 30 | $230 | $350 | $330 |
| 40 | $260 | $390 | $370 |
| 50 | $360 | $550 | $520 |
| 60 | $540 | $830 | $780 |
What we love:
- Fitness discounts; Complete Care covers gym memberships 100%
- 24/7 Nurses Line available to all members
- Easy Enroll options
- AutoPay eligible
Lowest cost by metal tier for Molina in Houston
|
Age |
Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| 20 | $220 | $310 | $330 |
| 30 | $260 | $360 | $390 |
| 40 | $390 | $410 | $440 |
| 50 | $400 | $570 | $610 |
| 60 | $610 | $870 | $930 |
What we like:
- Talk to a doctor 24/7 for $0
- Free telehealth
- $1/day when you reach your step goals (as much as $100)
- Prescription refills within the phone
- Great customer service
- AutoPay eligible
- Easy Enroll options
- Recommended for ICHRA
Lowest cost by metal tier for Oscar in Houston
|
Age |
Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| 20 | $260 | $290 | $380 |
| 30 | $300 | $340 | $440 |
| 40 | $340 | $380 | $500 |
| 50 | $470 | $530 | $690 |
| 60 | $720 | $810 | $1,050 |
For rates in your area according to your age, family size, and other variables, check out our window shopping tool!
What health plans are in network with your hospitals in Houston?
| Aetna | Ambetter | BlueCross BlueShield of Texas | Bright Healthcare | Community Health Choice | Friday Health Plans | Molina | Oscar | United Healthcare | |
| Harris Health System (Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital) | |||||||||
| Harris Health System (Ben Taub Hospital) | |||||||||
| Houston Methodist Health (Anything with Methodist) | |||||||||
| Memorial Hermann Healthcare System (Anything with Hermann) | |||||||||
| Texas Clinic (Texas Children’s Hospital) | |||||||||
| Kelsey Seybold Clinics |
Disclaimer: Networks and plans can alter year over year. We keep this information as up to date as you possibly can, but book with your provider to ensure your insurance coverage is accepted.
How do I choose the best individual insurance plan for me?
One of our favorite things about ICHRA is that it allows employees to choose the best plan for them, instead of a one size fits all group plan where they merely get one or two options. At Take Command, we've tools to help employees sort through the options.
- Doctor search: Try out our doctor search tool to make sure that your trusted doctors stay in network with your new health plan. Try out our window shopping tool and search for plans that actually work together with your doctors!
- Prescription search: Prescriptions is yet another big expense! Different carriers cover them differently, so it's important to price check and have a good luck at formularies for all of your health plan options, particularly if there's something you take regularly to manage chronic conditions. Our new prescription search tool allows you to compare plan coverage and formularies side by side to get the best coverage at the smallest cost to you. Take a look here.
- Be informed! We’ve put together an Open Enrollment Guide that will give you all of our best tricks and tips.
To get started looking for a plan, head on over to our individual medical health insurance shopping page to compare plans alongside and discover one that will work for both you and your HRA.
How Take Command can help
With a good amount of quality medical health insurance plans for workers to select from through the state, Houston employees are positioned for success when it comes to satisfaction using their ICHRA.
- Employees: If you are a employee looking to subscribe to individual health insurance in Houston to make use of together with your ICHRA, our enrollment team is standing around the ready to help. You are able to generate a call with enrollment team here.
- Business owners: If you’re a business owner and have questions about ICHRA, please plan a time for you to chat with our HRA Design team to ascertain if ICHRA is a good fit for you.
- Brokers: If you’re an agent considering ICHRA as an option for a client, submit an HRA Design request to see if this is a good fit for the client.
Other questions? Email support@takecommandhealth.com or chat with us on the website. We’d be pleased to help!
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