Nevadans get their health insurance through a job, Medicare, Medicaid, or by buying their own plan. According to State Health Access Data Assistance Center analysis of National Health Interview Survey data, 82% of Nevadans used health insurance for care by visiting a doctor or provider in the past year, and 18% did not.
Most Nevadans (51%) get insurance through their work. People with job-based plans pay about $3,150 a year on average in premiums and out-of-pocket costs, while their employers pay another $5,765.
About 18% of Nevadans, including seniors and people with disabilities, are covered by Medicare. People on Medicare pay about $4,200 a year on average. The government and other payers covered about $14,900 more per person.
About 15% of Nevadans with limited income are covered by Medicaid. People on Medicaid paid about $230 a year out of pocket and do not pay a premium. The government paid nearly $9,600 per person.
A smaller group, 5.5% of Nevadans, buys insurance on their own. This includes plans sold through Nevada Health Link, the state’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. These people paid around $3,300 a year on average. The government covered about $4,400, mostly through tax credits.
The federal government temporarily increased subsidies for ACA premiums during the COVID pandemic (2021–2025), which lowered costs for many people who bought plans on the marketplace. Those extra subsidies ended in 2025.
After the expanded ACA tax credits ended, marketplace premiums rose 56% nationwide for 2026 coverage. National enrollment fell by 1.2 million people, though it remains near a record high. Some people switched to lower-cost plans. Others dropped coverage because they no longer qualified for the credits. In Nevada, marketplace enrollment dropped about 5.5% to 104,286.
Approximately 11% of Nevadans are uninsured. The state’s uninsured rate has improved significantly over the past decade, dropping from a high of about 22% in 2012–2013 before the state expanded Medicaid. Despite that progress, Nevada still ranks among the higher-uninsured states and has the 6th-highest uninsured rate in the country, behind Texas, Alaska, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Georgia.
