Open enrollment on Nevada health exchange ends with 2nd largest increase ever

Nevada’s health insurance marketplace had its second largest open enrollment period in the state’s history, according to data released this week. 

Enrollment, which ended January 15, increased by 3%, with 99,312 Nevadans enrolling in a health plan and 20,984 enrolling in a dental plan. Of the 99,312 Nevadans who received health plans, over a quarter (25,553) were new enrollees. 

“These enrollment numbers, which are among the largest the state has ever seen, highlight the demand for affordable health and dental coverage in Nevada,” said Russell Cook, executive director of Nevada Health Link, in a press release.

The increase in enrollment is in part due to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act which extended tax credits to make health premiums lower. Nearly nine out of 10 Nevadans who shopped on the state’s health exchange website, Nevada Health Link, had financial assistance to help lower the cost. These subsidies expire in 2025. 

The federally subsidized health insurance plans available on the Nevada health exchange are a creation of the Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as “Obamacare,” enacted into law in 2010. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has declared he wants “to terminate Obamacare,” and “replace it with much better health care.”

In the several years following passage of the the ACA, and including during Trump’s administration as president, Republicans have made multiple failed attempts to repeal the ACA.