Depending on where you are in Texas you have a wide variety of insurance carriers to choose from including: Aetna CVS Health; Celtic/Ambetter (Ambetter from Superior Health Plan); Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas; CHRISTUS; Friday Health Plan; Moda Health Plan; Molina; Oscar; Sendero; SHA/FirstCare; Community Health Choice; Scott & White Health Plan; UnitedHealthcare of Texas; Cigna; Ascension Personalized Care Some of these carriers have a national footprint like Cigna, Aetna, and United Healthcare, Molina, and Oscar. Others are local plans like BCBS of Texas, Scott & White Health Plan, Ascension, Sendero, FirstCare (owned by Baylor Scott & White), Community Health Choice, and CHRISTUS. The best thing you can do is check to see which plans are offered in your area, look up all of your preferred doctors on the plan's provider directory to see if they are in network, and check the formularies to see if your drugs are covered. Most of the plans are HMOs so it's important to know that you will have to go to your PCP and get a referral before you can see a specialist. Some plans might even limit when you can use urgent care instead of seeing your PCP. Also, be sure you understand how a deductible works and how much your will be. One of the biggest complaints I see is that people don't understand that they have to pay their entire deductible before the insurance will pay anything. I recommend only choosing a plan that you can afford to pay the entire deductible for (i.e. if you don't have $5000 in savings then don't choose a $5000 deductible). More on reddit.com

Affordable and great are not two things that go together. Best bet is to look at options on the market place and compare plans. Most plans that are not in a group policy no matter where you get them will have a high deductible but it’s the preventative coverage that’s what I’d look into. Hell my daughter works for United health care and her plan is horrible . Health care in the US is all about who can afford it . To this day I go into Mexico and get treated by American drs that have offices there and get all my prescription filled there at a fraction of the cost I can here. You may not have that option. People complain about high taxes yet pay insurance companies 10x the amount annually for insurance that can deny coverage than settle for a socialized atmosphere where you’re guaranteed health care. Americans that have never left the country always talk about the NHS or Canadian health care. But everything has haters no matter where you go. I’m in a UK group on another app and we talk all the time about health care. They say it’s slower there but they would rather wait 2 weeks to get a procedure than have to pay half their savings to get it done or have a chance to be denied by a private institution and die . Also watch annual out of pocket . Many companies offer low copays as long as a max out of pocket has been reached. It’s all a money grab in the end and really nothing about quality of life health . It really depends on your needs. Health insurance in this day in age should NOT be tied to employment . That was a incentive used in the 40s that’s no longer a incentive he’ll many don’t even get it when offered because of then cost of group plan’s especially if you have a family. More on reddit.com

BSW is great assuming that you are fine with an HMO and they have facilities near you. We've had 6 ACA insurers over the last 8 years and they've been our favorite. I don't know if all of their plans are like ours have been, but they don't require PCP referrals for specialists despite being an HMO. We're going to be on a BSW plan for the third time next year and are pretty happy about it. Here's a post I made last year with mini reviews of our experience with each carrier other than Bright, which isn't around next year. https://old.reddit.com/r/Fire/comments/o9cdg1/once_you_quit_your_job_how_much_do_you_pay_every/h3hcumq/ More on reddit.com

Unfortunately the info you received is true. Texas is one of 10 states that has refused the Affordable Care Acts funding for Medicaid expansion that helps low income adults obtain health insurance. Soonercare is available thanks to the ACA expansion. It's also why Texas consistently ranks highest in the nation for the percentage of uninsured residents, you can thank the idiots that have run our state for decades for this. He can either try and get coverage on Healthcare.gov or the local clinics that charge on sliding scale. More on reddit.com