Health insurance in Bell County, Texas
4 insurers sell 55 marketplace plans here, and 15.0% of under-65 residents have no coverage at all.
Source: CMS Marketplace Open Enrollment Public Use Files and US Census Small Area Health Insurance Estimates, 2026 release.
Who sells here, and how much choice that gives
4 insurers sell marketplace plans in Bell County, offering 55 plans between them, roughly 14 each. The number has not changed since the previous plan year.
Coverage is better here than across the state
15.0% of Bell County's 340,970 under-65 residents have no health coverage — 51,152 people. That is far below Texas as a whole, which sits at 19.1% — 4.1 points better than its own state, and puts Bell County in the top quarter of the 1,817 counties on this site (355th).
Some of those 51,152 are in the Texas coverage gap: under $15,960 a year, too little for a subsidy and no expanded Medicaid to fall back on.
A market taking in new buyers
39,425 Bell County residents selected a marketplace plan for 2026: 116 per thousand under-65 residents, 592nd of 1,817. That is above the 78 per thousand typical of published counties. 10,068 — 26% — were new rather than renewing, an unusually high share.
Bell County against Texas
Bell County is the 15th largest of the 43 Texas counties we publish. Its uninsured rate runs 4.1 points lower than Texas overall and its 4 insurers sit between the state's 1 and 10. Marketplace use is well under the Texas rate.
| Bell County | Texas | Published median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uninsured, under 65 | 15.0% | 19.1% | 9.9% |
| Insurers selling | 4 | 1–10 | 4 |
| Plans offered | 55 | — | 57 |
| Selections per 1,000 | 116 | 159 | 78 |
| New rather than renewing | 26% | 18% | 15% |
Counties of a similar size nearby
| County | Under 65 | Uninsured | Insurers | Plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazoria County | 346,973 | 15.2% | 6 | 82 |
| Cameron County | 359,179 | 26.6% | 5 | 78 |
| Galveston County | 301,483 | 15.4% | 5 | 61 |
| Nueces County | 287,314 | 19.1% | 4 | 64 |
Brazoria County has 6 insurers against this county's 4 — a reminder that the county line, not the state line, is what decides your options.
Other Texas counties · Where the subsidy stops · Enrollment dates