Axios Houston

January 15, 2026
🏁 It's Thursday. Almost to the finish line.
☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high in the upper 50s and low around 45.
🎵 Sounds like: "Folded" by Kehlani.
🤠 Situational awareness: Houston Rodeo tickets go on sale at 10am today.
Today's newsletter is 952 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Texans defy expectations with ACA enrollment
Texans' enrollment in Affordable Care Act health insurance is exceeding the expectations of health policy experts who worried it would plummet when enhanced federal subsidies expired.
Why it matters: Texas has the highest rate of uninsured people in the nation.
Driving the news: Today is the last day to sign up for a marketplace plan.
The big picture: The ACA enhanced tax credits, introduced during the COVID pandemic, expired at the end of 2025. They were the main sticking point in the federal government shutdown last fall.
- Experts warned that without the subsidies, Texas' uninsured rate could rise as people faced increased premium costs.
The latest: More than 4.1 million Texans enrolled in an ACA plan as of Jan. 3, per Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data released Monday. That's about a 6.5% increase over the same time last year.
- Texas is outpacing enrollments nationwide, which dipped by about 834,000 signups, or 3.5%, when compared to the same timeframe.
Yes, but: The data does not specify how many Texans are new to the marketplace, were automatically re-enrolled or selected new coverage plans.
What they're saying: Premium costs are rising, but the impact on many people isn't as big as some suspected, says Charles Miller, director of health and economic mobility policy at Texas 2036, a policy research nonprofit.
- People tend to think marketplace plans will be more expensive than they actually are, which causes them to not even consider enrolling, Miller tells Axios.
By the numbers: Every Texas enrollee earning at or below 200% of the federal poverty level — about $60,000 for a family of four and $30,000 for a single person — can sign up for at least one marketplace plan with a $0 premium for 2026, per Texas 2036.
Zoom in: In Harris County, a single 40-year-old person earning about $38,000 can still find plans ranging from $37 to $248 per month, per Texas 2036 estimates.
The bottom line: "With the subsidies expiring, plans are getting more expensive," Miller says. "We just want to make sure that people … are aware that affordable options still exist."
2. Texas employment growth near zero
Texas employment growth has stalled, per a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Why it matters: Texas is looking a lot like the national job market: Firing has slowed but so has hiring.
The big picture: The national unemployment rate reached a four-year high of 4.5% in November but dropped in December to 4.4%, signaling hiring in the final month of the year.
- Texas has maintained a lower unemployment rate than the rest of the country over the past year, hovering around 4.2% in November, per the latest from the Texas Workforce Commission.
Zoom in: The Houston metro region has a slightly higher unemployment rate of 4.5%.
- But Houston's unemployment rate is improving from its recent 5% peak in August, per a Greater Houston Partnership analysis.
State of play: The state's labor force grew in the last year, adding more than 206,000 people, but unemployment has also increased, according to the Workforce Commission.
- The Dallas Fed's employment forecast estimates Texas lost 2,200 jobs last year, largely due to a weak fourth quarter.
What they're saying: "Higher productivity is suppressing labor demand, and less immigration is constraining labor supply," senior business economist Luis Torres said in the Dallas Fed report.
3. Bayou Buzz
🌏 The Netherlands is Houston's top international trade partner — and the relationship is accelerating, according to the Dutch ambassador to the U.S. (Houston Business Journal)
🎥 Houston filmmaker Tracie Laymon's "Bob Trevino Likes it" is earning early Oscar buzz. (Variety)
🎨 A mural of Malala Yousafzai near Houston's Heights neighborhood was vandalized again. City Council member Abbie Kamin has committed to funding its restoration. (Houston Public Media)
4. Weekender Guide
🎻 Listen to the Monarch Chamber Players as you stroll through the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
- The performance is included with museum admission. 6:30pm tomorrow.
🐶 Find your next four-legged friend at the Houston Pets Alive Adopt-a-Palooza.
- Adoption fees are a reduced $50. 11am-2pm Saturday.
🖼️ Be inspired at the 11th annual 10x10 Art Show featuring 2D and 3D works at The Hardy & Nance Studios.
- Free. 2-10pm Saturday.
🎉 Take the kids to the MATCH Family Fun Day featuring performances, activities and other festivities.
- Free. 1-5pm Sunday.
🤘 Shop till you drop at the Punk Rock Garage Sale's New Year's Market at Bad Astronaut Brewing.
- 2-6pm Sunday.
5. One brunch to go
👋 Shafaq here! I was blown away by a recent brunch, and I cannot stop talking about it.
Dig in: Mayahuel opened last summer in Autry Park and blends traditional and modern flavors of Mexico City.
- You can spot the CDMX influence right away. From the design to the menu — particularly, it feels like you're in Roma Norte or La Condesa neighborhoods.

My experience: I came, I devoured, and I'm already planning my return — for dinner.
- Acclaimed chef Luis Robledo Richards (who was a judge on Netflix's "Sugar Rush") has pastry-chef roots, and it shows. The inside of the concha ($6.80) was soft and fluffy, and the cinnamon roll ($6.80) was huge, tender, and even better dipped into the Mexican hot chocolate.
- As for the meal, the shakshuka ($18) actually had a kick — delicious. And you can't skip the chilaquiles ($18). Mayahuel's version combined the red and green salsas into one rich bite.
If you go: 811 Buffalo Park Drive, Suite 130
Thanks to Astrid Galván for editing this newsletter.
🤠 Shafaq is overwhelmed with so many good rodeo concert options.
👀 Jay is torn between Creed, Kelly Clarkson and Tim McGraw.
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