(The Center Square) – Health insurance rates through Nevada’s public Health Link program are set to rise 17% in 2027.
The increase comes after a state Division of Insurance’s reluctant approval of a rate increase, while Nevadans become more concerned about affordability.
“I remain very sensitive to the fact that once again rates are increasing,” Nevada Insurance Commissioner Ned Gaines said in a statement announcing the Health Link rates for 2027. “During this time of increased inflation, every dollar counts. I urge all Nevadans who purchase their health insurance on the Exchange to fully analyze each product offering to find the best option for you and to take advantage of all subsidies available. The cost of coverage can be high, but the cost of not having coverage is potentially higher should you encounter an unexpected illness or injury.”
Nevada’s health insurance open enrollment period for 2027 begins Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 15.
Nevada Health Link is the state’s health insurance marketplace, which helps individuals search insurance plans and sign up for the federal Affordable Care Act’s subsidized plans.
On Oct. 1, Nevada’s Division of Insurance announced that health insurance plans offered on Health Link would increase by an average of 17% for 2027. This comes after last year’s average health insurance plan increased by 34%. Roughly 100,000 Nevadans get their health insurance through Health Link, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Nationally, the price of health insurance is set to rise 15% on average for 2027, according to the health insurance guide HealthInsurance.org.
Diego Trujillo, CEO of Las Vegas HEALS, a nonprofit that supports increased healthcare access and quality, said the higher rates would push people into cheaper and worse insurance plans, or off health insurance altogether.
“People still need care,” Trujillo told The Center Square on Tuesday. “The only difference is with less coverage, people will begin to look for less preventative care, which then shifts the burden over to the emergency rooms, because that’s where people end up.”
Trujillo added that as more people are uninsured or on lower quality plans, costs are shifted to the places people end up after a problem occurs, such as hospitals. If more people cannot pay their hospital bills because they are uninsured, then the hospital becomes more expensive for everybody.
“The result of that is that conditions don’t get caught earlier, they become more expensive and healthcare becomes costlier,” said Trujillo.
Within Nevada, the cost of living has become a growing concern for residents. The economy and rising costs have become central points of political debate ahead of this November’s midterm elections, notably in the gubernatorial race where Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo have scrambled to convince voters they will best address their economic concerns.
Neither campaign for Lombardo nor Ford responded to requests for comment by The Center Square on this story.
In a Sept. 5-8 poll of 680 likely Nevada voters conducted by Emerson College Polling and KLAS TV, 43% said the economy was their top issue. This was followed by 15% who said housing affordability and 11% who cited healthcare.
The KFF, a health policy research nonprofit, estimated 7.5 million Americans would become uninsured by 2034 as a result of Medicaid policy changes made in 2026. Over half of those were expected to be due to new higher work requirements, according to KFF.
Trujillo said those changes, which largely come from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, likely had a sizable impact on the increased insurance costs.
“If those people do not get insured, they will end up in the hospital as a free care patient. Where are we going to recoup the cost for taking care of these people?” said Trujillo, adding later, “This is the trickle-down of a federal decision.”
At the same time, Trujillo argued that the longer-term issue for rising insurance prices, beyond Medicaid cuts, was the lack of incentives for preventative care and primary care.
“How do we prevent disease instead of treating it after we have to do an amputation?” said Trujillo. “Because it’s much easier for you to adjust your eating at 35-years-old, than it is to take care of you after an amputation at 60, right?”
Gaines, meanwhile, discussed the insurance rate hikes in an email to The Center Square.
“These adjustments stem from changes in the prices for medical services, prescription drugs, and levels of use,” the insurance commissioner said. “The increase also points to the changes in expected health status of the covered population.”
“Premiums also include costs beyond claims,” Gaines added. “For example: carrier administrative expenses, taxes, and fees. The listed factors reflect impacts of regulatory changes such as newly mandated benefits or changes to state or federal rules. Recent studies also point to the increase in pharmacy costs. Particularly the growing usage of GLP-1 medications, other specialty drugs, and behavioral health.”
GLP-1 are prescribed medications that mimic a natural gut hormone. The drugs are used to regulate blood sugar, slow digestion and reduce appetite.
The Nevada Health Authority, which oversees Health Link, did not respond to questions from The Center Square about the average cost of health insurance coverage in the state’s marketplace.
