Medicaid work requirements · Texas

Medicaid work requirements in Texas: who is subject and who loses coverage (2027)

Data snapshot 2026-06-03 · part of These 5 Million People Are About to Lose Their Medicaid — But They Don't Have To

Texas has not expanded Medicaid, so the federal work requirement that takes effect January 1, 2027 does not apply to a state expansion population. This model counts no Texas adults as subject.

The requirement matters for Texas in a different way: if the state expanded Medicaid later, its expansion adults would report from day one. The American Community Survey counts about 3,269,994 uninsured Texas adults with household income at or below 138% of the poverty line, the population an expansion would cover and the requirement would then reach.

Key figures

Model v2-2026-06-03. "Strict" counts adults whose ACS record shows them subject with no observable exemption; "permissive" allows the broader exemption reading.
MeasureTexas
Expansion stateNo
Subject to the requirement via waiverNo
Expansion pool (adults 19 to 64)0
Adults subject, strict definition0
Adults subject, permissive definition0
Share of expansion pool subject0.0%
Projected coverage loss by 20340
Hardship exception statusNon expansion
Early implementerNo
Ex parte capability score (0 to 100)n/a

Counties in Texas: uninsured adults below 138% of poverty

Harris County (531,833), Dallas County (291,467), and Tarrant County (237,789) hold the most uninsured low-income adults in Texas.

ACS 5-year estimates by county. These adults are not subject to the 2027 requirement because Texas has not expanded Medicaid.
CountyUninsured adults at or below 138% FPLPoverty rateWorking-age population
Harris County531,83316.0%2,954,626
Dallas County291,46714.0%1,619,263
Tarrant County237,78911.0%1,321,051
Bexar County227,02715.0%1,261,262
Travis County161,71411.0%898,410
Collin County130,4976.0%724,982
Denton County112,4917.0%624,950
Fort Bend County95,7627.0%532,014
El Paso County93,02920.0%516,830
Hidalgo County89,32228.0%496,232
Williamson County74,9306.0%416,275
Montgomery County72,9139.0%405,072
Brazoria County42,5148.0%236,191
Cameron County42,50625.0%236,142
Bell County41,24615.0%229,144
Galveston County38,40511.0%213,360
Nueces County37,38117.0%207,672
Lubbock County35,03317.0%194,630
Hays County30,64113.0%170,230
Brazos County28,61324.0%158,960
McLennan County28,06718.0%155,926
Webb County27,48621.0%152,699
Jefferson County26,87118.0%149,286
Smith County24,77213.0%137,620
Ellis County22,7448.0%126,355
Johnson County20,78711.0%115,482
Guadalupe County19,7749.0%109,858
Comal County19,2336.0%106,848
Midland County18,53311.0%102,961
Kaufman County18,43810.0%102,432
Parker County17,3088.0%96,154
Ector County17,29616.0%96,091
Randall County15,4539.0%85,852
Taylor County15,41115.0%85,615
Grayson County14,60711.0%81,152
Wichita County13,99816.0%77,765
Rockwall County13,2894.0%73,827
Gregg County12,82617.0%71,254
Tom Green County12,42212.0%69,014
Potter County12,04521.0%66,915
Hunt County11,46612.0%63,701
Bastrop County10,99812.0%61,101
Liberty County10,65218.0%59,178
Walker County9,91119.0%55,060
Coryell County9,86211.0%54,790
Bowie County9,53217.0%52,954
Victoria County9,30517.0%51,694
Angelina County8,87816.0%49,322
Orange County8,82712.0%49,038
Henderson County8,39315.0%46,626
Wise County7,9399.0%44,105
San Patricio County7,27116.0%40,396
Harrison County7,15616.0%39,756
Waller County6,87013.0%38,166
Nacogdoches County6,81222.0%37,847
Anderson County6,78716.0%37,706
Starr County6,48533.0%36,026
Hood County6,2879.0%34,930
Van Zandt County6,27913.0%34,883
Hardin County5,84713.0%32,486
Maverick County5,81123.0%32,286
Polk County5,68516.0%31,586
Medina County5,65110.0%31,396
Rusk County5,59913.0%31,105
Wilson County5,53310.0%30,738
Chambers County5,43614.0%30,200
Navarro County5,41216.0%30,066
Caldwell County5,26514.0%29,252
Atascosa County5,22114.0%29,006
Burnet County5,2058.0%28,918
Cherokee County5,18117.0%28,784
Lamar County5,05216.0%28,066
Kerr County4,96013.0%27,557
Kendall County4,9185.0%27,322
Val Verde County4,88016.0%27,112
Erath County4,77417.0%26,522
Wood County4,45413.0%24,743
Cooke County4,37213.0%24,291
Upshur County4,32915.0%24,050
Wharton County4,16715.0%23,150
Fannin County4,01213.0%22,292
Brown County3,94613.0%21,925
Jim Wells County3,85823.0%21,435
Hopkins County3,80113.0%21,118
Hill County3,72613.0%20,702
Bee County3,68120.0%20,448
Howard County3,64515.0%20,251
Matagorda County3,62122.0%20,118
Washington County3,53412.0%19,636
Hale County3,35719.0%18,648
Kleberg County3,30331.0%18,349
Grimes County3,26514.0%18,137
Jasper County3,23323.0%17,960
Titus County3,12818.0%17,376
Austin County3,05312.0%16,960
Palo Pinto County2,89816.0%16,101
San Jacinto County2,87517.0%15,972
Cass County2,77618.0%15,423
Milam County2,51514.0%13,971
Uvalde County2,47424.0%13,742
Aransas County2,45818.0%13,658
Gillespie County2,4479.0%13,596
Jones County2,41114.0%13,396
Shelby County2,35923.0%13,105
Fayette County2,35310.0%13,072
Lampasas County2,2979.0%12,760
Panola County2,26414.0%12,576
Houston County2,23218.0%12,402
Limestone County2,23021.0%12,391
Willacy County2,17627.0%12,090
Hockley County2,17315.0%12,073
Moore County2,17113.0%12,061
Gray County2,16017.0%12,002
Gaines County2,11713.0%11,760
Bandera County2,09514.0%11,637
Tyler County2,09418.0%11,636
Calhoun County2,0659.0%11,470
Montague County2,06413.0%11,466
Frio County2,04221.0%11,346
DeWitt County2,03117.0%11,282
Freestone County2,03013.0%11,280
Hutchinson County2,01710.0%11,208
Colorado County1,9817.0%11,006
Andrews County1,96612.0%10,920
Gonzales County1,96413.0%10,912
Lavaca County1,90310.0%10,574
Llano County1,89411.0%10,520
Burleson County1,86312.0%10,351
Lee County1,84913.0%10,274
Falls County1,81616.0%10,088
Deaf Smith County1,79216.0%9,958
Eastland County1,78716.0%9,928
Bosque County1,77312.0%9,849
Young County1,76816.0%9,822
Karnes County1,73521.0%9,642
Scurry County1,72612.0%9,588
Robertson County1,67514.0%9,305
Pecos County1,65223.0%9,180
Leon County1,51314.0%8,406
Madison County1,50012.0%8,334
Jackson County1,49312.0%8,296
Callahan County1,4139.0%7,850
Nolan County1,38816.0%7,710
Reeves County1,37021.0%7,608
Trinity County1,32814.0%7,378
Dawson County1,31925.0%7,326
Zapata County1,31737.0%7,316
Comanche County1,30714.0%7,258
Wilbarger County1,29618.0%7,198
Rains County1,26711.0%7,040
Lamb County1,25417.0%6,966
Blanco County1,23810.0%6,876
Live Oak County1,23621.0%6,868
Camp County1,22422.0%6,800
Newton County1,22124.0%6,784
Morris County1,17516.0%6,529
Terry County1,14922.0%6,386
Ward County1,13214.0%6,292
Red River County1,10720.0%6,150
Clay County1,0639.0%5,905
Mitchell County1,03414.0%5,746
Franklin County1,0329.0%5,732
Somervell County1,0067.0%5,588
Ochiltree County1,00612.0%5,588
Duval County97922.0%5,438
Stephens County97417.0%5,411
Parmer County96610.0%5,368
Marion County96116.0%5,338
Runnels County95912.0%5,326
Brewster County95316.0%5,296
Jack County95114.0%5,284
Sabine County92317.0%5,126
Zavala County89731.0%4,984
Archer County87812.0%4,875
Dimmit County82544.0%4,581
Winkler County76713.0%4,260
Hamilton County76517.0%4,250
Childress County75215.0%4,180
San Augustine County74027.0%4,113
Swisher County73230.0%4,067
La Salle County73128.0%4,064
Coleman County72817.0%4,046
McCulloch County72613.0%4,034
Brooks County71733.0%3,982
Yoakum County71514.0%3,972
Dallam County7149.0%3,964
Goliad County70610.0%3,922
Refugio County66416.0%3,690
Castro County66212.0%3,680
Bailey County65213.0%3,622
Garza County62915.0%3,492
San Saba County58214.0%3,232
Hartley County5807.0%3,220
Presidio County57740.0%3,206
Lynn County57119.0%3,174
Carson County5668.0%3,142
Haskell County54715.0%3,038
Martin County54217.0%3,010
Delta County53914.0%2,994
Hansford County5098.0%2,830
Floyd County50319.0%2,797
Crosby County49524.0%2,750
Jim Hogg County47729.0%2,650
Wheeler County46818.0%2,601
Crane County4474.0%2,482
Mills County4237.0%2,348
Hudspeth County41125.0%2,282
Kimble County40412.0%2,246
Concho County39716.0%2,207
Kinney County37116.0%2,060
Fisher County36612.0%2,033
Hardeman County34011.0%1,890
Sutton County33017.0%1,835
Shackelford County32811.0%1,822
Knox County32611.0%1,808
Upton County32220.0%1,792
Mason County3215.0%1,784
Hemphill County3216.0%1,781
Reagan County3177.0%1,762
Baylor County31612.0%1,754
Coke County30817.0%1,714
Donley County30711.0%1,708
Crockett County2779.0%1,539
Hall County27319.0%1,516
Lipscomb County26214.0%1,454
Cochran County25826.0%1,434
Sherman County2568.0%1,420
Schleicher County22914.0%1,270
Collingsworth County21722.0%1,204
Oldham County19817.0%1,098
Real County18525.0%1,029
Armstrong County1806.0%1,000
Culberson County16622.0%924
Jeff Davis County16125.0%897
Dickens County15812.0%880
Menard County15822.0%878
Throckmorton County15014.0%836
Cottle County13724.0%760
Irion County1377.0%762
Briscoe County12724.0%706
Sterling County1252.0%694
Motley County1219.0%673
Edwards County11923.0%664
Glasscock County1185.0%657
Stonewall County1027.0%567
Foard County9022.0%502
Roberts County7915.0%440
Terrell County676.0%372
Kent County668.0%364
Borden County612.0%338
McMullen County5215.0%288
King County2128.0%115
Kenedy County123.0%67
Loving County15.0%6

State brief and methodology

Estimates, not counts. The model rakes to CBO's national subject total and allocates by ACS microdata; state agencies hold the administrative data that would replace these figures.

Sources

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