Support organization

Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Texas Medicaid Buy-In for Children provides regular Medicaid coverage to a Texas child under 19 who meets the disability and financial rules, including families with gross income up to 300% of the federal poverty level. Depending on income and employer-sponsored insurance, a family may owe a monthly premium; the 2026 schedule ranges from $0 to $230. A parent, guardian, or authorized representative applies with Form H1200-MBIC and verifies disability, income, household, residency, citizenship or qualified status, and available employer insurance; a cancer diagnosis by itself does not establish disability eligibility. The Texas Medically Dependent Children Program is a Medicaid home- and community-based waiver for a Texas resident under 21 who meets nursing-facility level-of-care, Medicaid financial, unmet-need, living-arrangement, and individual cost-limit rules. Authorized services can include respite, flexible family supports, adaptive aids, minor home modifications, employment supports, transition assistance, and financial-management services. A family first joins the state interest list by phone, written request, or the Your Texas Benefits Find Support Services tool; assessment begins only after a slot is released, so B-ALL or another cancer diagnosis alone does not establish eligibility or immediate access. The Texas CSHCN Services Program can pay for medical care, prescriptions, equipment, therapies, case management, transportation, and certain insurance costs for eligible Texans under age 21 with a long-term physical condition. Current program materials include treatment used for relapsed or refractory precursor B-cell ALL, but a physician must document the child’s condition and level of need. Financial and payer-of-last-resort rules apply, and enrollment or services may be waitlisted when appropriations are insufficient. The Texas Medical Transportation Program arranges or reimburses nonemergency travel to covered health-care appointments for eligible Medicaid, CSHCN, and Transportation for Indigent Cancer Patients clients who lack another ride. Services can include public transportation, taxi or van service, mileage, and in some cases meals, lodging, air travel, or an attendant. Families generally call at least two business days before an in-county trip or five business days before travel outside the county, and prior authorization and capacity rules apply. Texas Medicaid provides year-round health coverage for eligible Texas children, with most children receiving services through STAR and disability-related care through STAR Kids. Members under 21 receive Texas Health Steps preventive services and federally required medically necessary treatment, and families may access case management, service coordination, therapies, equipment, home health, private-duty nursing, PPECC day nursing, behavioral health, pharmacy, dental, transportation, and other covered care. STAR Kids serves eligible members with disabilities, while STAR Health is for children and youth in foster-care pathways. Nonemergency transportation may include mileage, air travel, meals, lodging, and an attendant when authorized, and HIPP may reimburse cost-effective employer-plan premiums. Pediatric hospice permits concurrent curative treatment under 21; every service remains subject to eligibility, medical necessity, plan authorization, provider availability, and program-specific rules.