Your Baylor Scott & White Plan Ends December 31. Choose the Next One Before It Gets Chosen for You
If you have a Baylor Scott & White Marketplace plan, please read this. Your plan ends on December 31, 2026. It will not renew, because Baylor Scott & White Health Plan is leaving the Marketplace. [1]
About 100,000 Texans are in the same spot. [2] You have options, and you still have time. Open Enrollment is open now. Pick a plan by December 15 and it starts on January 1. [3]
We do not sell Baylor's plans, so you may not know us yet. We are a licensed insurance agency, and we can help you move to a new plan with one of the companies we work with. You do not need to be our client today to call us.
We covered the news in August. This article is about what you should do now.
The short version
- Your plan works through December 31. Keep paying your premium until then. [2]
- Your hospital is not closing. Only the insurance plan is ending. [1]
- If you do nothing, the Marketplace may pick your next plan. Nobody checks your doctors first.
- That plan may not include your doctor. In Dallas County, none of the three plans we checked lists Baylor University Medical Center.
- We can help you move, at no cost to you. We work with most of the companies selling in these counties, and a Marketplace plan costs the same with an agent or without one.
Is this you?
Look at your insurance card. Baylor's Marketplace plans have names like BSW Prime Silver, BSW Elite Gold and BSW Savers Bronze.
They were sold in 104 Texas counties. [4] [5] These are some of them:
- Dallas area: Dallas, Collin, Ellis and Rockwall counties
- Austin area: Travis and Williamson counties
- San Antonio: Bexar County
- Central Texas: Bell (Temple, Killeen), McLennan (Waco) and Brazos (College Station, Bryan) counties
- West Texas and the Panhandle: Lubbock, Midland, Ector (Odessa), Taylor (Abilene), Potter and Randall (Amarillo) counties
Live in the Houston area? Baylor's Marketplace plans were not sold in Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Waller, Liberty, Chambers or Austin counties. [4] [5] Every company that sold plans in those counties in 2026 is still selling there for 2027. If you moved to Houston and still carry a Baylor card, call us. You need a new plan either way, and the Marketplace needs your new address.
Tarrant and Denton counties were not in Baylor's Marketplace area either.
What happens if you do nothing
You will probably not end up without a plan. When a company leaves, the Marketplace usually moves its members into a plan from another company. [6]
The government publishes where each plan goes, in a file called the Plan ID Crosswalk. We read the 2027 file. For every Baylor plan, in every county, it names a different company. [5] Here is what it says for some of the largest counties:
| County | If you have Baylor and do nothing |
|---|---|
| Dallas | Bronze: HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield Silver: Ambetter Gold: Oscar |
| Collin | Bronze: HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield Silver: Ambetter Gold: HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield |
| Travis, Williamson | Bronze: Wellpoint Silver: Ambetter Gold: Harbor Health Plan |
| Bexar | Bronze: Wellpoint Silver: Oscar Gold: Oscar |
| Bell | Bronze: HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield Silver: UnitedHealthcare Gold: UnitedHealthcare |
| Brazos | Bronze: UnitedHealthcare Silver: UnitedHealthcare Gold: UnitedHealthcare |
| McLennan | Bronze: HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield Silver: HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield Gold: HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield |
These companies may sell perfectly good plans. The problem is what the file does not know. It matches plans by things like metal level and plan type. [6] It does not know who your doctor is or which medicines you take. This file can also change. The notice the Marketplace sends you is what counts for your case.
Risk 1: your doctor may not be in the plan
We checked Dallas County. We took the three plans the file names there and looked each one up in the company's own 2027 provider directory. None of the three lists Baylor University Medical Center. [5]
Then we checked every plan sold in Dallas County for 2027. There are 132. The directories list that hospital on 14 of them. We could not read a directory for 11 more.
Baylor Scott & White says it will keep accepting Marketplace plans, and it tells its members to confirm their provider is in the new plan's network. [1] Its own list of accepted individual plans, last updated in July 2026, names Blue Advantage, Blue Advantage Plus and, in North Texas, Ambetter EPO. [7]
So you may well be able to keep your Baylor doctor, but you have to choose a plan that includes them. Directories can be late or wrong, and a hospital can be listed under another number. Always confirm with the doctor's office and the plan before you count on it.
Risk 2: you may pay more than you need to
The plan in the file is not always the lowest priced plan at that metal level. These are 2027 Silver prices for a 55-year-old, before any tax credit, next to the lowest priced Silver we can offer in that county: [5]
| County | Silver plan for a 55-year-old |
|---|---|
| Bell | Plan in the file: $1,682.41 Lowest priced Silver we can offer: $1,379.94 Difference: $302.47 a month |
| Brazos | Plan in the file: $1,399.07 Lowest priced Silver we can offer: $1,204.96 Difference: $194.11 a month |
| McLennan | Plan in the file: $1,402.49 Lowest priced Silver we can offer: $1,267.31 Difference: $135.18 a month |
In Bell County, that difference is about $3,600 a year. A tax credit takes the same amount off either plan, so most of the time the difference stays.
To be fair, in Dallas, Collin, Travis, Williamson and Bexar counties, the Silver plan in the file is the lowest priced one we can offer. But the lowest price is not always the right plan. It still has to include your doctor and your medicines.
Your options for 2027
1. A new Marketplace plan, with your tax credit
This is the right move for most people. Your tax credit is not tied to Baylor. If you qualify, it goes with you to any Marketplace plan. The amount can change in 2027, so look at the new numbers. We explained what is happening with 2027 prices.
These are the companies we can enroll you with for 2027, in some of the counties Baylor is leaving: [5]
| County | Companies we can enroll you with |
|---|---|
| Dallas | Ambetter, HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Harbor Health Plan, Imperial, Molina, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint |
| Collin | Ambetter, HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Harbor Health Plan, Imperial, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint |
| Travis | Ambetter, HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Harbor Health Plan, Imperial, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint |
| Williamson | Ambetter, Antidote, HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Harbor Health Plan, Imperial, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint |
| Bexar | Ambetter, Antidote, HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Harbor Health Plan, Imperial, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint |
| Bell, Brazos | Ambetter, HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare |
| McLennan | Ambetter, HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield |
| Lubbock | HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint |
| Potter, Randall, Midland, Ector | Ambetter, HCSC Blue Cross and Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare |
Across all 104 counties, most have two or three companies for 2027, and 13 counties have only one. Some counties also have companies we do not work with. HealthCare.gov shows every plan in your county.
If you live in Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Rockwall, Lubbock or Crosby County and you have Cigna, the same steps apply. Cigna is leaving too.
2. A plan outside the Marketplace
Some plans are sold directly by the company. They come with no tax credit, so they mostly make sense if you do not qualify for one. We compare the types of plans here.
3. Medicare, if you are turning 65
Ask about Medicare before you pick a Marketplace plan. Baylor says it will keep serving its Medicare Advantage customers. [8] Here is how we help with Medicare.
4. Coverage from a job, Medicaid or CHIP
If a job offers you coverage, look at it first, because it can affect your tax credit. If your income is low, the Marketplace application also checks for Medicaid and CHIP.
Questions we are hearing
Do I lose what I already paid toward my deductible? No more than you would in any other year. ACA plan deductibles start over on January 1. If your new plan starts on January 1, changing companies does not cost you anything there. [6]
I am pregnant or in the middle of treatment. What now? Call early. Baylor says health plans have processes to help members continue treatment and prescriptions when they change plans, and it suggests asking the new plan about its transition policy. [1] That is a question to ask before you enroll.
Can I wait until after December 31? You can, but it can leave you uncovered. Losing your plan opens a Special Enrollment Period, from 60 days before your plan ends to 60 days after. [9] A new plan does not go back in time, though, so choosing after December 31 means a gap. [6]
The dates to keep
- December 15: last day to pick a plan that starts January 1. [3]
- December 31: last day of your Baylor plan. [1]
- January 15: Open Enrollment ends. [3] If you enroll after December 15, your new plan starts later, and you could have no coverage in January.
How Doctor Insurance One helps
Insurance companies come and go. Aetna left. Now Baylor and Cigna are leaving. An agency is not tied to one company. If a company leaves again, we can help you move to another one, and you keep the same agent.
- You can choose who helps you. It does not matter who helped you get your Baylor plan. You can pick your agent for 2027.
- We start with your doctors. Give us their names. We look them up in the company directories, plan by plan, and we tell you when a directory cannot give a clear answer.
- We show you the real cost. Side by side: what you pay each month after your tax credit, your deductible, and the most you could pay in a year.
- We do the paperwork. You choose the plan and our team sends in your enrollment. The Marketplace now asks you to authorize your agent once a year. It comes by text or email and takes a minute.
- We speak English and Spanish. Use whichever is easier for your family.
- You can do it all by phone. Our office is in Miami and we are licensed in Texas. Most of the families we help never visit the office. This fall we prepared 2027 renewal quotes for almost 7,000 families, most of them in Texas and Florida.
- It costs you nothing extra. The plan costs the same with us or without us.
Call us before December 15
Have these ready and the call goes much faster:
- Your Baylor insurance card
- The names of your doctors, clinics and hospitals
- The list of your medicines
- Your best guess of your household income for 2027
- The date of birth of each person who needs coverage
Call (800) 305-7709. During Open Enrollment we answer later and on Saturdays: Monday to Friday from 9 am to 7 pm Texas time, and Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm.
You can also ask for a free quote or see plans and prices on your own, with no name or phone number needed.
Sources
- "Marketplace member FAQ," Baylor Scott & White Health Plan.
- Louise Norris, "Health insurers are exiting the Marketplace again. Should consumers be worried?" healthinsurance.org, updated October 20, 2026.
- "Dates and deadlines," HealthCare.gov.
- "Service area maps," Baylor Scott & White Health Plan.
- Doctor Insurance One, our own review on November 4, 2026 of the CMS Marketplace public use files for plan years 2026 and 2027 (service areas, plans, rates and the Plan ID Crosswalk), and of the provider directories the companies publish, as read in October 2026. Baylor University Medical Center was checked under the two provider numbers (NPI) listed for it in those directories.
- Louise Norris, "My health insurance company is leaving my market. What can I do?" healthinsurance.org, updated August 4, 2026.
- "Insurance plans accepted," Baylor Scott & White Health, last updated July 22, 2026.
- "Individual & Family Marketplace Plans," Baylor Scott & White Health Plan.
- "Special Enrollment Period," HealthCare.gov.
Doctor Insurance One is a licensed insurance agency. We are not an insurance company and we are not the government. We are not connected to Baylor Scott & White, CMS or HealthCare.gov. We do not offer every plan available in your area; HealthCare.gov shows all of them. Plans, prices and doctor networks change by county and by year, and nothing on this page is a quote or an offer of coverage.
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