Harris Health Gold Card Requirements: Who Qualifies For This Safety Net Insurance Plan?
In this guide, I will explain what are the requirements to receive a Harris Health Gold Card.
The Gold Card is a safety net health insurance plan in Houston/Harris County that provides coverage for low-income, uninsured, and undocumented families.
Keep reading to see if you qualify for Harris Health Gold Card coverage.
Who Manages The Gold Card?
The Harris Health System is the healthcare network that manages the Gold Card. You will have to apply for the Harris Health Gold Card through their eligibility system.
What are the Gold Card requirements?
You must live in Harris County and be considered low-income to receive discounted rates from Harris Health System.
Your address and monthly income are the main factors that will determine if you qualify for the Houston Gold Card.
Here is more information about the 2 Harris Health Gold Card requirements.
Gold Card Is For Harris County Residents
You must live in Harris County to qualify for Gold Card. This is the first requirement.
If you live in Fort Bend, Brazoria, Montgomery, Galveston County, etc you will not qualify for the Gold Card, even if you have a low income. The good news is if you live in another county, they have similar “county clinic” healthcare programs like Harris Health System.
If you live on the border of Harris County, you can use this “What County Am I In” lookup to determine if you will qualify for the Gold Card.
The Harris Health System is funded by Harris County taxes, which is why only low-income Harris County residents can qualify.
Gold Card Is For Low-Income Residents In Harris County
The second eligibility requirement is you must be considered low-income to qualify for the Gold Card in Harris County.
Low-income is having a household income of 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Below are examples of 150% of the federal poverty level.
These numbers were taken from the FPL Calculator, but you are encouraged to contact Harris Health System to confirm that you qualify.
- 1 person = $19,320
- 2 people = $26,130
- 3 people = $32,940
- 4 people = $39,750
- 5 people = $46,560
What If My Household Exceeds 150% FPL?
If your household income exceeds 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines you can still receive medical treatment through the Harris Health System, however, you will not qualify for discounted medical services (Financial Assistance Plan).
How Do I Apply For The Gold Card?
To apply for the Harris Health Gold Card you will need to complete a Gold Card application, provide the supporting documents.
You can then apply for coverage by:
- Mailing your application
- Faxing it to Harris Health
- Dropping your application off at a Harris Health eligibility center
We have a guide titled How To Apply for the Harris Health Gold Card that will walk you through each step of this process.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has been helpful for you to learn about the Harris Health Gold Card Requirements. If there are any questions that we didn’t answer, comment below, visit the Gold Card website, or call the Harris Health System at 713.566.6509.
Similar Articles That May Interest You:
- Can Undocumented Immigrants In Houston Apply For The Gold Card?
- 33 Common Gold Card Questions Answered
- How To Get An Emergency Gold Card
- 37 Harris Health Clinics To Treat You After You Are Approve For The Gold Card
Nick Bryant is the author of Understanding Healthcare Is Half The Battle and a Senior Counselor with 13+ years of experience working in community health and mental health. He enjoys spending time with his family, watching WWE on Friday nights, and working toward a Google Data Analytics certification. If you have additional questions about community resources or government assistance programs, simply leave a comment below and he will follow up as soon as possible.
Hi i want to know our current gold card status?
Hi Sohni, call the Harris Health eligibility line at 713.566.6509 and press option 4 to check the status of your Houston Gold Card.
Can someone who has no income at all get approved? I noticed it says you need a pay stub. My friend currently isn’t working.
Hi Bob, no your friend does not need to be working. If they have $0 income there is a form called a “supporter statement” that the person who is helping them financially can fill out. It does not make that person responsible for any medical bills or charges of your friend though.
Below is the link to the supporter statement. Anyone who has $0 income can use this to show their “proof of income” and how they are being financially supported.
https://www.harrishealth.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/eligibility/applicant-forms/English/support-statement-english.pdf
Regarding the pay stub, that is only needed if someone is working. Sorry for the confusion.
They ask for 30 days pay stub but what if the last 30 days included unusual over time which doesn’t reflect yearly amount.
If they take the last 30 days and apply it across 12 months it would reflect too much to qualify. What can should someone do?
I understand your issue. Essentially you worked lots of overtime and made more monthly income than usual. Monthly income you may not be making going forward. I would say contact Harris Health eligibility at 713.566.6509 and run this situation by them. Your past 30 days of monthly income may not reflect your income going forward and I don’t want that from stopping your from getting the care you need.
In the meantime, if you need to see a doctor soon, let me know the area of town you live in and I’ll send you a list of low cost clinics in Houston that require no health insurance.
Hi my son is unemployed and broke his hand but was denied a gold card why? Because he check he was a citizen!
Hi Michelle, does he have income from unemployment?
Consider trying the Gold Card eligibility calculator to see if he should qualify for Gold Card in Houston. He simply needs to enter any monthly income, household size, and this will give him a better idea of whether or not he may qualify for Gold Card.
He can also appeal the decision by using this Gold Card eligibility denial form.
https://www.harrishealth.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/eligibility/applicant-forms/English/appeal-english.pdf
Sorry for frustation, but let me know if you need any more information.
Nick
Hi, is SSI includes in household income order to determine FPL?
Hi Muhammad,
Yes, when determining eligibility for certain programs and benefits, including the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is generally considered as part of household income.
If you have your household income and want to know if you may qualify for Gold Card, use their Gold Card eligibility calculator and this will give you a general idea of whether or not your SSI falls under income limits.
Even if it does and you need to find a low cost medical clinic just let me know the zip code and I’ll send you a list of clinics.
Just let me know how I can help.
Nick