Lone Star Card

HHSC gives food stamps and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) payments through the Lone Star Card. It is a plastic card that is used like a credit card at the cash register to pay for purchases. People who have a TANF account can use their Lone Star Card to withdraw cash.

If your card is lost or stolen, or if you forgot your PIN (password), call us toll-free at 1-800-777-7328 as soon as you can.

To learn more, go to the Lone Star Card Frequently Asked Questions.

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Find a Doctor

You can use our search tool to find a doctor who gives Medicaid services. There are two types of searches – the Basic Search and the Advanced Search. The Advanced Search gives you more options to help you narrow your search. For example, you can look up a doctor by the language they speak, find doctors who work on the weekends and find a doctor that will see someone your age.

The Basic Search, Advanced Search and text in Spanish options will be on the top of these web pages:

Start your search

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Find a Drug Store

You can use our search tools to find a drug store that takes Medicaid or CHIP.

Find drug stores that take Children’s Medicaid and CHIP.

Find drug stores that take Medicaid for adults. 

Remember: Try to use one drug store at the same location to get all of your prescriptions.

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Texas Health Steps

Texas Health Steps is for children, teens, and young adults age 20 and younger who get Medicaid. Texas Health Steps offers free medical and dental checkups.

Texas Health Steps checkups can help find health problems before they get worse and harder to treat.

Call Texas Health Steps toll-free at 1-877-847-8377 (1-877-THSTEPS) if you:

• Need help finding a doctor or dentist.
• Need help setting up a checkup.
• Have questions about checkups or Texas Health Steps.
• Need a case manager to help you find and get other services.

To learn more, visit the Texas Health Steps website.

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How to Pay CHIP Enrollment Fee

Pay Online
You may pay a Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment fee online with a credit card. There is a $2 charge to pay online.

Pay by Mail
If you would like to pay by check or money order, you can send your payment to:

To learn more about CHIP, visit the CHIP and Children’s Medicaid website.

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Health Insurance Premium Payment

The Health Insurance Premium Payment program (HIPP) is a Medicaid program that helps families pay for private health insurance. This program is for families who have:

• A parent or a spouse with private health insurance.
  

AND

• A child or a spouse with Medicaid.

Medicaid will pay the family’s private health insurance if the total cost of that insurance is less than the total cost of care with Medicaid. The total cost of the private insurance includes the premium, coinsurance and deductibles.

If approved, Medicaid may pay the private health insurance costs for the entire family and not just for the family members who get Medicaid. The family will get services through the private health insurance plan.

To learn more or to apply, call us toll-free at 1-800-440-0493 or write to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, TMHP-HIPP, PO Box 201120; Austin, Texas 78720-1120.

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How to Get a Ride to the Doctor, Dentist or Drug Store

If you need a ride to the doctor or dentist’s office, hospital, drug store or any place you get Medicaid services, call us toll-free at: 

1-877-633-8747 (TTY: 1-800-735-2989)

1-877-MED-TRIP

Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To get a free ride, you or your child must be on Medicaid or be in the Children with Special Health Care Needs program. You also must not have any other way to get to the doctor or drug store.

Before you call for a free ride you must have already set up a time to see a doctor. To get a ride:

1. Call us at least 2 work days or more before you need a ride. If you will need to travel a long way out of town to see your doctor, call us at least 5 work days before you need a ride. If you need a ride the same day you call us, we will do everything we can to help, but we can’t promise we will be able to get you a ride.

2. Tell us your Medicaid ID, Children with Special Health Care Needs program number or your Social Security number.

3. Tell us the address where we will pick you up. If there is a phone number at the place we are picking you up, we need that too.

4. Tell us the name, address and phone number of the doctor or drug store where you need to go.

5. Tell us the date and time of your doctor’s visit.

6. Tell us if you or your children have any special needs so we can send the right type of vehicle. For example, for people who use a wheelchair, we can send a van with a wheelchair ramp.

[Read Frequently Asked Questions about Getting a Ride]

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Medicaid Plans: PCCM, STAR, STAR+PLUS, and traditional Medicaid

Medicaid offers services through different types of plans. In Texas, there are 4 Medicaid plans: PCCM, STAR, STAR+PLUS, and traditional Medicaid. Which plan a person is in depends on where the person lives and what kind of health issues the person has.

STAR and STAR+PLUS have different health plan providers that people can choose from.  Click on the plan names below to:

• Learn more about the different plans.
• Find links to member handbooks.

Traditional Medicaid
You get traditional Medicaid if you are not in the PCCM, STAR, or STAR+PLUS plans.

Primary Care Case Management (PCCM)

STAR

STAR+PLUS

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Traditional Medicaid

You get traditional Medicaid if you are not in the PCCM, STAR, or STAR+PLUS plans.
Member Handbook: English | Spanish

Primary Care Case Management (PCCM)

Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership (TMHP)
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

STAR

Aetna Medicaid
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

AMERIGROUP Community Care
Member Handbooks:

Dallas Service Area (Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall counties)
English | Spanish

Harris Service Area (Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery and Waller counties)
English | Spanish

Tarrant Service Area (Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties)
English | Spanish

Nueces Service Area (Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio and Victoria counties)
English | Spanish

Travis Service Area (Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Lee, Travis and Williamson counties)
English | Spanish

Community First Health Plans
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Community Health Choice
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Cook Children’s Health Plan
Member Information: English | Spanish

Driscoll Children’s Health Plan
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

El Paso First Premier
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

FirstCare Health Plans
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Molina Healthcare of Texas
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Parkland Healthfirst
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Superior HealthPlan
Member Handbook: English | Spanish

Texas Children’s Health Plan
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Unicare Health Plans
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

UnitedHealthcare
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

STAR+PLUS

AMERIGROUP Community Care
Member Handbook for People Who Only Get Medicaid:
English | Spanish

Member Handbooks for People Who Get Medicare and Medicaid:

Bexar and Travis Service Areas (Atascosa, Bastrop, Bexar, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Lee, Medina, Travis, Williamson and Wilson counties)
English | Spanish

Harris Service Area (Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery and Waller counties)
English | Spanish

Evercare
Member Handbook: English | Spanish

Molina Healthcare of Texas
Member Handbook: English | Spanish

Superior HealthPlan
Member Handbook: English | Spanish

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Children’s Health Insurance Program Health Plans

Children in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) get their health and medical services through a health plan in their area. Some CHIP health plans also offer services to mothers who are pregnant. This is called CHIP perinatal coverage.

CHIP Health Plans

Aetna Medicaid
CHIP Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

AMERIGROUP Community Care
CHIP Perinatal Coverage Member Handbooks:
English | Spanish

CHIP Member Handbooks:

Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio and Victoria counties
English | Spanish 

Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery and Waller counties
English | Spanish

Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall counties
English | Spanish

Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties
English | Spanish

Community First Health Plans
CHIP and CHIP Perinatal Coverage Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Community Health Choice
CHIP and CHIP Perinatal Coverage Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Cook’s Children’s Health Plan
CHIP Member Information: English | Spanish

Delta Dental
CHIP Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Driscoll Children’s Health Plan
CHIP Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

El Paso First Premier
CHIP Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

CHIP Perinatal Coverage Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

FirstCare Health Plans
CHIP Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

CHIP Perinatal Coverage Handbooks:
English | Spanish

Mercy Health Plans
CHIP Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

CHIP Perinatal Coverage Handbooks:
English | Spanish

CHIP Perinatal Newborn Coverage Handbooks: English | Spanish

Molina Healthcare of Texas
CHIP Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Parkland Healthfirst
CHIP and CHIP Perinatal Newborn Coverage Handbooks: English | Spanish

CHIP Perinatal Coverage Handbooks:  
English | Spanish

Seton Healthplan
CHIP Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

Superior HealthPlan
CHIP and CHIP Perinatal Coverage Member Handbooks for children who live in Travis, Bexar, Lubbock and Nueces Counties:
English | Spanish

CHIP and CHIP Perinatal Coverage Member Handbooks for children who do not live in Travis, Bexar, Lubbock and Nueces Counties:
English | Spanish

Texas Children’s Health Plan
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish 

Unicare Health Plans
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish

United Healthcare Texas
Member Handbooks: English | Spanish