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STAR+PLUS Managed Care for Dual-Eligibles, Explained

STAR+PLUS is Texas's Medicaid managed care program for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, or who have a disability -- most Fort Worth-area seniors on Medicaid long-term-care services are enrolled in a STAR+PLUS plan.

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Home›State Rules›STAR+PLUS Managed Care for Dual-Eligibles, Explained
Short answer

STAR+PLUS is Texas's managed care program coordinating medical care and long-term services and supports for Medicare/Medicaid dual-eligible members and people with disabilities. It operates statewide, including throughout the Fort Worth metro.

Specific managed care organization plan options can vary slightly by county -- confirm which organizations currently operate in your county of residence at enrollment. No major restructuring is publicly announced for STAR+PLUS as of this writing, but plan lineups do change periodically.

Questions families ask

How does a Fort Worth family apply for the STAR+PLUS HCBS waiver?

Apply through Your Texas Benefits online, or call Texas 2-1-1 and ask for the aging and disability services option. A Texas HHSC caseworker will complete a nursing-facility level-of-care assessment as part of determining eligibility.

What are Texas's nursing facility Medicaid income and asset limits in 2026?

For 2026, the special income limit for Texas nursing facility Medicaid is $2,901/month, with a $2,000 asset limit for a single applicant. Income above the limit generally requires a Miller Trust (Qualified Income Trust) to still qualify.

What is Medicaid Estate Recovery, and does it affect a Fort Worth family's home?

Texas's Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) can seek reimbursement from a deceased Medicaid recipient's probate estate for long-term-care costs paid by the state, including nursing facility care and some STAR+PLUS HCBS services -- but only after death, and with protections for a surviving spouse or dependent children.

What does assisted living cost in the Fort Worth area?

The 2024 CareScout Cost of Care Survey puts Texas's statewide median assisted living cost at $5,250 a month. No primary source publishes a Fort Worth- or Tarrant County-specific figure separate from that state median, so local pricing likely runs close to or somewhat above it given the metro's growth.

What does memory care cost in Fort Worth?

There is no published memory-care median anywhere in the country -- CareScout does not survey memory care as its own category, in Texas or any other state. Any specific memory-care dollar figure you see online is an estimate or an extrapolation, not a sourced statistic.

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