Home › Medical cities › Texas

Hospital & Medical Cost in Texas (2026)

Hospital costs in Texas typically run $1,500–$3,700 for an uninsured moderate-acuity Level-3 ER visit, with ACA Medicaid NOT expanded (coverage gap exists). Texas's combination of HB 4 (2003) Texas Tort Reform Act with $250K-per-tier physician/hospital/secondary-hospital caps producing $750K aggregate (one of the most aggressive hard-cap structures in the country, unchanged 22 years), Medicaid-expansion non-adoption (one of 9 holdout states leaving 1.4M+ in the coverage gap — the largest coverage gap in the country), no CON program (one of 15 non-CON states), SB 1264 robust state surprise billing protection, HB 2090 robust hospital price transparency mandate, Houston Texas Medical Center (largest medical complex in the world) + DFW + Austin + San Antonio metro concentration, and $42.94/hr BLS RN mean.

State Texas
Cities Covered 6
Typical uninsured moderate-acuity Level-3 ER visit $1,500 – $3,700
BLS Registered Nurse wage $42.94/hr

Texas payer mix, regulation & malpractice drivers

  • Surprise billing protection: Robust state statute — state-level surprise billing protection beyond federal No Surprises Act
  • Certificate of Need (CON) status: No Certificate of Need program
  • Medicaid expansion status: ACA Medicaid NOT expanded — 100-138% FPL coverage gap exists
  • Malpractice non-economic damages cap: Hard statutory non-economic damages cap — $250K physician / $250K hospital / $250K secondary hospital ($750K aggregate) under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.301 (HB 4 Texas Tort Reform 2003)
  • Hospital price transparency mandate: Robust state mandate — state-level price transparency beyond federal CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule
  • Dominant health insurance market structure: Multi-plan competitive — no single insurer holds dominant market share

Texas medical board & physician licensing

  • License status: Statewide license required
  • License board: Texas Medical Board (TMB) (official site)
  • Permit: Texas Medical Board MD/DO license required; DEA Schedule II-V + Texas Prescription Monitoring Program (Texas PMP); hospital privileging at Houston Methodist / MD Anderson Cancer Center / Memorial Hermann / Baylor Scott & White Health / UT Southwestern / Texas Children's; NO Certificate of Need program (Texas has not had CON since 1985); Texas SB 1264 (2019) state-level surprise billing; Texas HB 2090 (2021) hospital price transparency

How medical care costs vary in Texas

State-specific code or insurance rule: Texas enacted House Bill 4 (Texas Tort Reform Act 2003) under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.301 — one of the most aggressive medical malpractice non-economic damages caps in the country with separate $250,000 caps per defendant tier (physician, hospital, secondary hospital) producing a $750,000 aggregate cap that has been in place unchanged for 22 years (compare CA MICRA which started at $250K in 1975 but reformed in 2022 to climb to $750K-$1M by 2033) — and Texas SB 1264 (2019) provides robust state-level surprise billing protection, plus Texas HB 2090 (2021) created one of the most aggressive state-level hospital price transparency mandates in the country with state-level enforcement penalties beyond federal CMS rule.

Cities in Texas

Compare medical care pricing for 6 cities across Texas.

Austin, TX

Compare local medical care pricing in Austin.

Dallas, TX

Compare local medical care pricing in Dallas.

El Paso, TX

Compare local medical care pricing in El Paso.

Fort Worth, TX

Compare local medical care pricing in Fort Worth.

Houston, TX

Compare local medical care pricing in Houston.

San Antonio, TX

Compare local medical care pricing in San Antonio.

Got a quote? Check if it's fair.

Upload your estimate for an instant price and scope review tuned to Texas labor and material rates.

Analyze your quote

More state guides

Pricing ranges reflect Texas market labor (BLS OEWS Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141) state mean $42.94/hr) and Woogoro regional cost modeling. For the most localized estimate, see your nearest city page above.