HHSC has contracted with different STAR+PLUS plans effective Sept. 1, 2024. Some service areas will have health plan changes. If you are a STAR+PLUS member or provider, you may be impacted. Read important information below.
STAR+PLUS is a Texas Medicaid-managed care program for adults who have disabilities or are age 65 or older. Adults in STAR+PLUS get Medicaid healthcare and long-term services and support through a health plan that they choose.
Adults with complex medical needs can choose to live and receive care in a home setting instead of a nursing facility. Hear Dorothy and Robert’s stories and learn more about HHS home and community-based services.
New STAR+PLUS contracts are beginning Sept. 1, 2024, which may change the health plan options in your area. If you are a STAR+PLUS member, you may need to pick a new plan.
Long-term services and supports provided through the STAR+PLUS program include things like:
Another feature of STAR+PLUS is service coordination. A STAR+PLUS managed care organization (MCO) staff member works with the member, the member's family and the member's doctors and other providers to help the member get the medical and long-term services and supports they need.
New STAR+PLUS contracts are beginning Sept.1, 2024. If you are a STAR+PLUS provider in service areas with health plan changes, you may be impacted.
| STAR+PLUS Service Area | Counties in the Service Area | Current STAR+PLUS MCOs through 8/31/24 | Future STAR+PLUS MCOs 9/1/24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bexar | Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, Wilson | Molina, Wellpoint, Superior | Community First, Molina, United Healthcare |
| Dallas | Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro, Rockwall | Molina, Superior | Molina, Superior, United Healthcare |
| El Paso | El Paso, Hudspeth | Wellpoint, Molina | El Paso Health, Molina |
| Harris | Austin, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Matagorda, Montgomery, Waller, Wharton | Wellpoint, Molina, United Healthcare | Community Health Choice, Molina, United Healthcare |
| Hidalgo | Cameron, Duval, Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Maverick, McMullen, Starr, Webb, Willacy, Zapata | Molina, Superior | Molina, Superior, United Healthcare |
| Jefferson | Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, Tyler, Walker | Molina, United Healthcare, Wellpoint | Molina, Wellpoint |
| Lubbock | Carson, Crosby, Deaf Smith, Floyd, Garza, Hale, Hockley, Hutchinson, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Potter, Randall, Swisher, Terry | Superior, Wellpoint | Superior, Wellpoint |
| Nueces | Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Goliad, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kleberg, Live Oak, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria | Superior, United Healthcare | Superior, Wellpoint |
| Tarrant | Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant, Wise | Molina, Wellpoint | Molina, United Healthcare |
| Travis | Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Travis, Williamson | United Healthcare, Wellpoint | Superior, United Healthcare |
| West Texas | Andrews, Archer, Armstrong, Bailey, Baylor, Borden, Brewster, Briscoe, Brown, Callahan, Castro, Childress, Clay, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collingsworth, Concho, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Dallam, Dawson, Dickens, Dimmit, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Edwards, Fisher, Foard, Frio, Gaines, Glasscock, Gray, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hemphill, Howard, Irion, Jack, Jeff Davis, Jones, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney, Knox, La Salle, Lipscomb, Loving, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Midland, Mitchell, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parmer, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, Roberts, Runnels, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Sherman, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Taylor, Terrell, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Winkler, Yoakum, Young, and Zavala | Superior, Wellpoint | Superior, Wellpoint |
| Central Texas | Bell, Blanco, Bosque, Brazos, Burleson, Colorado, Comanche, Coryell, DeWitt, Erath, Falls, Freestone, Gillespie, Gonzales, Grimes, Hamilton, Hill, Jackson, Lampasas, Lavaca, Leon, Limestone, Llano, Madison, McLennan, Milam, Mills, Robertson, San Saba, Somervell, Washington | Superior, United Healthcare | Superior, United Healthcare |
| Northeast Texas | Anderson, Angelina, Bowie, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Cooke, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Grayson, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Hopkins, Houston, Lamar, Marion, Montague, Morris, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rains, Red River, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Titus, Trinity, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood | Molina, United Healthcare | Molina, United Healthcare |
To get services through STAR+PLUS you must: (1) be approved for Medicaid, (2) be one or more of the following:
The following people can't be in the STAR+PLUS program:
Important notes for those covered by Medicare:
STAR+PLUS does not change how people get their Medicare services. You can continue to get regular medical care from your Medicare doctor and providers or from a Medicare managed care health plan.
When you join STAR+PLUS, you will pick a STAR+PLUS health plan and start getting Medicaid long-term services and supports through your health plan.
STAR+PLUS is a Texas Medicaid program. To get services through STAR+PLUS, you must first be enrolled in Medicaid.
To enroll in Medicaid, visit Your Texas benefits or call 2-1-1.
Once you are approved for STAR+PLUS, you will get a packet in the mail that tells you about the program and how to choose a health plan. If you don't have Medicare, you will also need to select a primary care doctor.
After receiving the STAR+PLUS enrollment packet, you have 15 days to choose a health plan. If you don't choose a health plan and primary care doctor, HHSC will choose for you.
You can tell us your choices by phone, mail or by filling out a form at an enrollment event or presentation. Enrollment event calendar
Your health plan will assist in setting up services.
Your primary care doctor takes care of your basic medical needs and can refer you to a specialist, if needed.
Regular health care and long-term services and supports are part of a service plan created by you, your family, your doctor, other healthcare providers, and your health plan. Other people who are important in your life can also participate in your service planning if you want to invite them.
You can change your health plan or main doctor as often as once a month. If you ask to change your plan or doctor, you must wait until we tell you the change is made before you go to your new doctor.
The following is an overview of the services STAR+PLUS offers.
Health plans must have a service coordinator visit with the member within 30 days of enrolling in the program. The service coordinator must find out the member's goals, interests, and needs, and help the member develop a service plan.
Long-term services and supports can include:
Other services under the STAR+PLUS Home and Community-Based Services program include:
Along with all of the traditional Medicaid and other services listed above, each STAR+PLUS health plan offers its own set of "value-added" services. These are extra services not covered by Medicaid.
Each health plan's value-added services are shown in charts that are included in the packet mailed to people approved for STAR+PLUS Medicaid.
The STAR+PLUS Home and Community Based Services program (sometimes referred to as “STAR+PLUS Waiver”) provides services that help people live at home who would otherwise need to be in a nursing facility. HHSC assesses a person’s need for this program when they apply for Medicaid.
Email Managed Care Initiatives for more information.