Nevada launches Health Authority to consolidate healthcare programs
The Nevada Health Authority (NVHA) was established under Senate Bill 494, a key legislative measure supported by Governor Joe Lombardo. The NVHA consolidates the management of Nevada’s healthcare and human services programs, including Medicaid, the state’s health insurance exchange, and the public employees’ benefits program. The goal is to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and expand access to healthcare for Nevada’s 3.2 million residents.
Governor Joe Lombardo stated, “The Nevada Health Authority leverages the state’s purchasing power to secure better health insurance deals for taxpayers and enhance insurance options for eligible Nevadans.” The initiative, first proposed in his State of the State Address, received bipartisan support during the 2025 legislative session.
Stacie Weeks, former Nevada Medicaid administrator, will lead the NVHA. Richard Whitley remains Director of the reorganized Department of Human Services. Weeks outlined the NVHA’s objectives: “The authority aims to unify agencies, increase purchasing power, lower healthcare costs, attract providers, improve care quality, and simplify program eligibility.”
The NVHA addresses critical healthcare challenges in Nevada, where 10.2% of the population (approximately 326,000 people) lacked health insurance in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Medicaid currently serves over 800,000 Nevadans, and the state’s health insurance exchange enrolls around 80,000 annually, per the Nevada Division of Insurance. By centralizing these programs, the NVHA seeks to reduce administrative costs, which consumed 8% of Nevada’s $5.2 billion healthcare budget in 2024, and improve provider recruitment in a state with only 218 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents, below the national average of 250.
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