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We understand that enrolling your child into STAR Kids can be overwhelming because it requires you to gather a lot of information and to go through a number steps. The information below should help you through this process.
It is a Texas Medicaid managed care program for children and adults 20 and younger with disabilities or acute conditions who might need assistance in covering health costs.
STAR Kids offers basic care and additional services to help members, including long-term services and supports (LTSS) if you need them. LTSS include things like help in your home with basic daily activities and help making changes to your home so you can safely move around. Click here for more information on LTSS.
Texas has six Medicaid Home & Community-based Services waivers that help people with disabilities live and work in their community.
Getting on the Texas Medicaid Waiver lists is the first step to getting services for your child. We strongly suggest you add your child to the waiver interest list(s), which many parents call “waiting lists.” It is important that they be added to the interest list for any program(s) that might meet their needs. Some of the interest lists have more than a 15-year wait time. You can always decline the services once your child moves to the top of the list.
Your child’s eligibility information will be reviewed once they move to the top of the list. Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) will then decide if your child can enroll.
Your child must be covered by Medicaid and meet at least one of the following conditions:
If you are interested in applying for Medicaid or CHIP for your child, please visit our How to Apply page. Approval of Medicaid application is required for most waiver programs to begin services, but you can get on the waitlist first.
If your child is eligible for STAR Kids (based on disability or medical complexity), you will be enrolled in STAR Kids through HHSC and choose a health plan. (If you would like to choose Texas Children’s Health Plan, this is when you would make that choice!)
Visit Texas Health and Human Services for more information.
Once your child is enrolled in and approved for STAR Kids, you will have an assigned Health Plan service coordinator.
Service Coordinators are case managers who advocate and work with your child’s healthcare team. The assigned service coordinator ensures your child receives timely, high-quality, cost effective care and support during both acute and chronic phases of his or her health. Service coordinators safeguard your child’s health through the creation of an individualized service plan, which includes a holistic evaluation of his or her physical, behavioral, and social needs.
See what Health Plan employee and mom Alejandra Lima has to say!
Texas Children’s Health Plan is committed to helping all children, including those with disabilities, get and stay healthy. STAR Kids members can get the care they need through our hands-on support programs, top-quality providers and more. It’s what we have done for over 25 years.