How To Find the Best Health Insurance in Nevada

Shopping around and comparing quotes from several different health insurance companies is the best way to find an affordable and high-quality Nevada health insurance plan. Fortunately, health insurance costs are significantly lower on average in Nevada than they are across the country as a whole.

Read on to learn more details about affordable health insurance in Nevada, along with some of the issues that exist in the state’s health care system.

On This Page

• 

  Is Health Insurance Required in Nevada?

• 

  Nevada Health Insurance Rankings

• 

  How Much Does Health Insurance Cost in Nevada?

• 

  What Is the Average Cost of Health Insurance in Nevada by City?

• 

  Which Health Insurance Companies Are the Most Affordable in Nevada?

• 

  When Is Open Enrollment for Health Insurance in Nevada?

• 

  What Types of Health Insurance Are Available in Nevada?

• 

  How To Get Health Insurance in Nevada

• 

  FAQs

Is Health Insurance Required in Nevada?

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), all Nevadans are officially required by law to maintain ACA-compliant health insurance plans that cover the same essential health benefits. However, the federal government eliminated the penalty for uninsured individuals starting with the 2019 tax year, and Nevada has not enacted its own state-level penalty.^[1]

Nevada Health Insurance Rankings

Nevada has a poor health care system, ranking 41st out of all the states and the District of Columbia in an analysis conducted by the Commonwealth Fund in 2023. The Silver State ranks dead last when it comes to the prevention and treatment of illnesses, and it is also the worst-rated state in the Western region. The following table goes over Nevada’s results for each of the metrics considered in the study.^[2]

How Much Does Health Insurance Cost in Nevada?

Residents of Nevada enjoy access to solidly lower-than-average health insurance premiums; while it costs an average of $497 per month to enroll in Marketplace benchmark health plans throughout the United States, Nevadans only have to pay a monthly average of $414 for these plans. In addition, the average monthly prices for Nevada’s cheapest bronze, silver and gold plans are $345, $413 and $512, respectively.^[3] 

Cheapest Health Insurance Options in Nevada

When you opt for a plan in the bronze health insurance tier, you can expect to spend less on your monthly premium payments in exchange for paying more in deductibles, coinsurance and copays. A bronze plan may make sense for you if you don’t expect to need health care services often, but you may instead benefit from a higher-tiered gold or platinum plan if you have a chronic health problem that requires frequent medical attention.^[4]

Regardless of your health status, you can save money on both premiums and out-of-pocket costs by enrolling in a health maintenance organization (HMO) rather than a preferred provider organization (PPO). The trade-off, however, is that your plan won’t cover routine out-of-network care, nor will it cover specialist visits unless you get a referral from your doctor.^[5]

What Is the Average Cost of Health Insurance in Nevada by City?

Below, you’ll find a list of median insurance rates for individuals in multiple major cities sourced from Nevada’s health insurance marketplace, Nevada Health Link. These quotes do not take premium tax credits into account, and they apply to a sample population of 30-year-olds with an annual income of $40,000.^[6]

Which Health Insurance Companies Are the Most Affordable in Nevada?

Health Plan of Nevada offers lower starting rates for silver-tier health plans than any other health insurance carrier in the state. That said, there are several other insurers listed in the table below that offer silver health insurance plans for less than $700 per month.^[7]

When Is Open Enrollment for Health Insurance in Nevada?

Although the state of Nevada operates its own health insurance marketplace, it still uses the federal open enrollment period of November 1 to January 15. If you don’t purchase a Nevada Health Link plan during open enrollment, you may instead be able to buy coverage during a special enrollment period triggered by a qualifying life event, such as losing access to your current health plan or experiencing a change in your marital status.^[8]

What Types of Health Insurance Are Available in Nevada?

As you consider which type of health insurance to purchase, keep in mind that you should have access to coverage types like the following if you live in Nevada:

• Marketplace health insurance
• Private coverage purchased directly from an insurance company, such as short-term health insurance
• Employer-sponsored group health insurance
• Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) continuation coverage
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP (also known as Nevada Check Up, or NCU)
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health benefits
• Student health plans

How To Get Health Insurance in Nevada

Generally, it’s useful to collect and compare health insurance quotes from three to five insurance companies before settling on a plan. The only problem is that contacting health insurance carriers one by one to give them information like your age, location and income in order to request a quote can be a time-consuming process.

Fortunately, SmartFinancial is the solution to that problem. Simply tell us what kind of coverage you need and we’ll do the legwork of helping you find quotes for the best plans for your situation. Once you click here, you can fill out a brief questionnaire and start comparing health insurance quotes for free.