Yes—you have coverage routes, but the affordable answer will likely be Texas Children's Medicaid or CHIP for your eligible high-school brother and separate Marketplace or student-plan coverage for the adults, depending on age, income, and enrollment timing.
“My family of three recently moved to Texas and we've had our green cards for about five months. My dad is unemployed, I work part-time as a college student, and my brother is in high school. None of us have employer-sponsored health insurance. What are the best, affordable health insurance options that could cover my whole family?”
Summary
Your brother's recent green card does not shut him out of Texas child coverage, and all three of you can explore Marketplace plans. The harder question is what the adults would actually pay, especially if the relevant tax household's income is below the 2026 subsidy floor.
The lowest-cost answer may combine your brother's Texas child coverage with a different plan for the adults, rather than put all three of you on one policy.
If he is 18 or younger, apply for Texas Children's Medicaid first: Texas lists a monthly family-income screening amount of $3,028 for three people and says Children's Medicaid is free. If income is too high for that program, Texas lists $4,577 per month for three people as its screening amount; CHIP can have modest enrollment fees and copays. Texas's child immigration exception means his five-month-old green card does not itself impose a five-year wait. [Texas HHSC child-program limits](https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/health/medicaid-chip/medicaid-chip-programs-services/programs-children-adults-disabilities/programs-children-families/childrens-medicaid-chip); [Texas HHSC A-340](https://www.hhs.texas.gov/handbooks/texas-works-handbook/a-340-qualified-alien-status-eligibility-charts).
Green-card holders may buy insurance; your brother can also be included if child coverage does not work out. For 2026, a qualifying with income from 100% through 400% of the federal poverty level may receive a . Below that floor, the special subsidy exception for immigrants barred from Medicaid was repealed effective in 2026, although buying a plan at full price remains an option. Enroll now only if you qualify for a , or use the open enrollment beginning November 1, 2026, for 2027 coverage. [HealthCare.gov immigration and savings rules](https://www.healthcare.gov/immigrants/lawfully-present-immigrants/); [Public Law 119-21, §71302](https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ21/PLAW-119publ21_uslm.xml); [HealthCare.gov enrollment dates](https://www.healthcare.gov/quick-guide/dates-and-deadlines).
Compare your school's student-health plan with a Marketplace plan for yourself. Having access to a student plan does not stop you from applying through the Marketplace. If you are 18 or younger, also seek the Texas child-coverage determination; if you are older, do not assume the ordinary under-19 child-program rules cover you. [HealthCare.gov college-student guidance](https://www.healthcare.gov/young-adults/college-students); [Texas HHSC children's programs](https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/health/medicaid-chip/medicaid-chip-programs-services/programs-children-adults-disabilities/programs-children-families/childrens-medicaid-chip).
Do not plan on automatic Texas Medicaid for your dad, or for you if you are an adult, just because income is low or your brother is approved. An adult lawful permanent resident normally faces a five-year waiting period, and Texas also has separate adult eligibility requirements. Prior refugee-type status or a qualifying military-family exception can change the immigration result, so this is not a ruling on someone who has such a history. [Texas HHSC A-340](https://www.hhs.texas.gov/handbooks/texas-works-handbook/a-340-qualified-alien-status-eligibility-charts); [CMS guidance, April 2026](https://www.hhs.gov/guidance/sites/default/files/hhs-guidance-documents/AID/sho26001.pdf); [Texas HHSC parent eligibility](https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/health/medicaid-chip/medicaid-chip-programs-services/programs-children-families/medicaid-parents-caretakers).
The Texas dollar figures below are screening amounts for a family of three; an application determines the income and household counted for each person.
Read the full explanationHide the full explanation
Watch out for
Next steps
These actions establish each person's eligibility before you commit to a plan or premium.
Start here
Put together each person's eligibility facts
Use expected income for the year of Marketplace coverage, rather than assuming your dad's current unemployment makes the whole household's annual income zero. Record whether your dad will claim you as a dependent: that affects whether you apply in his Marketplace tax household or separately. [HealthCare.gov income guidance](https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/); [household rules](https://www.healthcare.gov/income-and-household-information/household-size).
Requirements
Any time of year
Apply for your brother's Texas Medicaid and CHIP determination
Apply through Texas Health and Human Services at https://www.yourtexasbenefits.com/Learn/Home for Children's Medicaid or CHIP. For a three-person family, Texas publishes monthly screening amounts of $3,028 for Children's Medicaid and $4,577 for CHIP; the agency determines the amount counted in your case. You can apply throughout the year, and his recent green card does not itself require a five-year wait. [Texas HHSC children's programs](https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/health/medicaid-chip/medicaid-chip-programs-services/programs-children-adults-disabilities/programs-children-families/childrens-medicaid-chip); [HealthCare.gov Medicaid and CHIP](https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip); [Texas HHSC A-340](https://www.hhs.texas.gov/handbooks/texas-works-handbook/a-340-qualified-alien-status-eligibility-charts).
Requirements
Generally within 60 days of a qualifying event
Apply for Marketplace coverage if your move still qualifies
Use https://www.healthcare.gov/apply-and-enroll/how-to-apply/ for your dad, yourself, and anyone who needs Marketplace coverage. If a qualifying move occurred within the past 60 days, use that now; a move from abroad is listed as a qualifying event. Otherwise, Marketplace open enrollment for 2027 begins November 1, 2026: enroll by December 15, 2026, for coverage starting January 1, 2027; the annual enrollment window ends January 15, 2027. [CMS special-enrollment guidance](https://www.cms.gov/files/document/special-enrollment-periods-march-2026.pdf); [HealthCare.gov dates](https://www.healthcare.gov/quick-guide/dates-and-deadlines).
Requirements
Before choosing your plan
Compare your student plan and account for any tax credit
Compare your college's offered student plan with the Marketplace plan available to you; access to a student plan does not prevent a Marketplace application. If you receive a , file a federal tax return with IRS Form 8962 for the applicable tax year. [HealthCare.gov college-student guidance](https://www.healthcare.gov/young-adults/college-students); [IRS premium-tax-credit guidance](https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/the-premium-tax-credit-the-basics).
Requirements
Legal sources
This answer uses Texas Health and Human Services eligibility materials, federal CMS guidance, HealthCare.gov, the enacted federal tax-credit amendment, and IRS instructions.
Texas Works Handbook A-340
Texas recognizes a child-coverage exception that can help the high-school brother despite his recent green card.
A-340, child eligibility
Certain other qualified immigrant and non-immigrant children 18 and under who are lawfully living in the U.S. may qualify for Medicaid regardless of their date of entry.
CMS SHO #26-001
Federal guidance explains the statutory child and pregnancy exception to the ordinary five-year wait.
CHIPRA 214 discussion
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) (P.L. 111-3) authorized an option for states to provide full Medicaid and CHIP coverage to children (up to age 21 for Medicaid and up to age 19 for CHIP) and pregnant women who are lawfully residing in the U.S., without having to meet the five-year waiting period, if otherwise applicable (often referred to as the ‘CHIPRA 214 option’).
Texas CHIP State Plan
Texas elected to cover otherwise eligible qualified-immigrant children through CHIP without the five-year delay.
CHIP eligibility, immigration
Effective May 1, 2010, Texas extends federally-matched CHIP coverage to qualified alien children who are otherwise eligible without a five-year delay.
Texas HHSC Children's Medicaid and CHIP
Texas publishes the monthly Children's Medicaid income screening figure for a three-person family.
Children's Medicaid income table, family of three
|3 |$3,028 |
Texas HHSC Children's Medicaid and CHIP
Texas publishes the monthly CHIP income screening figure for a three-person family.
CHIP income table, family of three
|3 |$4,577 |
Texas HHSC Children's Medicaid and CHIP
The child Medicaid route has no family premium in Texas.
Costs
Children's Medicaid is free.
Texas HHSC Children's Medicaid and CHIP
Texas describes a limited CHIP enrollment fee rather than promising that every CHIP case is free.
Costs
Enrollment fees are $50 or less per family, per year.
CMS SHO #26-001
The October 2026 federal changes did not erase the ordinary adult green-card waiting period or its statutory exceptions.
Five-year waiting period
Therefore, on and after October 1, 2026, states must continue to apply the five-year waiting period to LPRs in accordance with 8 U.S.C. § 1613(a), unless an exception provided in 8 U.S.C. §§ 1613(b) or (d)(1) applies.
HealthCare.gov immigration-status guidance
A green-card holder can satisfy the Marketplace immigration-status requirement.
Eligible immigration statuses
Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR/Green Card holder)
HealthCare.gov lawfully present immigrants
The published income range establishes the ordinary Marketplace premium-credit branch.
Marketplace savings
If your annual income is between 100% and 400% of the FPL, you may qualify for the premium tax credit and extra savings on Marketplace health coverage.
Public Law 119-21 §71302(a)
Congress removed the special income-floor exception formerly relevant to certain lawfully present immigrants ineligible for Medicaid.
§71302(a)
Section 36B(c)(1) is amended by striking subparagraph (B).
Public Law 119-21 §71302(b)
The change to that tax-credit exception applies beginning with the 2026 tax year.
§71302(b)
The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
CMS Special Enrollment Periods
A qualifying event generally opens a 60-day window outside annual Marketplace enrollment.
Qualifying-event enrollment window
If consumers qualify for an SEP, they generally have 60 days from the date of their qualifying event to newly select or change their Marketplace coverage.
CMS Special Enrollment Periods
Moving to the United States from abroad is an expressly listed Marketplace enrollment event.
Move-related qualifying events
Moving to the U.S. from a foreign country or U.S. territory.
HealthCare.gov Dates and Deadlines
These dates determine when the family can enroll for January 2027 Marketplace coverage without a special event.
Open Enrollment dates
November 1: Open Enrollment starts — first day you can enroll in, renew, or change health plans through the Marketplace for the coming year. Coverage can start as soon as January 1. December 15: Last day to enroll in or change plans for coverage to start January 1.
HealthCare.gov Household Size
Tax filing and dependency, not merely a shared home, affect the family's Marketplace savings calculation.
Marketplace household size
For the Health Insurance Marketplace ® , a household usually includes the tax filer, their spouse if they have one, and their tax dependents.
HealthCare.gov College Students
The college student may apply independently when nobody claims them as a tax dependent.
College-student coverage
You can apply for Marketplace coverage regardless of your age if no one claims you as a dependent on their taxes.
HealthCare.gov Medicaid and CHIP
The family need not wait for Marketplace open enrollment to seek the brother's Medicaid or CHIP determination.
When to apply
You can apply for Medicaid and CHIP any time of year.
IRS Premium Tax Credit
A person receiving a Marketplace premium tax credit must address it on a federal tax return.
Claiming the credit
To get this credit, you must meet certain requirements and file a tax return with Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit (PTC).
These are the official rules reflected in the cited sources as of their stated dates; rules and published income limits can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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