Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Nevada health exchange enrolls more than 10,000 so far

health insurance plans

Kyle Roerink

Nevadans who want to sign up for health insurance plans can go to brick-and-mortar locations and work with insurance brokers, assisters and navigators. Bruce Gilbert, right, is the executive director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange. He was at the Boulevard Mall location on Saturday, working with insurance officials to help consumers enroll in plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.

Compared to last year’s rollout, Nevada Health Link is showing stronger numbers so far in this year’s open enrollment.

More than 10,000 Nevadans have enrolled for subsidized health care plans through the state insurance program.

The enrollment numbers are good news and show signs of improvements at Health Link, Nevada’s online health care market.

At this time last year, only 6,000 people had signed up. It was Health Link’s first year online.

And like federal counterpart healthcare.gov, there were major problems. There was a swarm of technical glitches and consumers were put on hold for hours waiting for customer service representatives. People paid for insurance premiums but ended up not receiving insurance.

Since last year’s launch, much has changed at Nevada Health Link. Instead of plugging into state-maintained software, it is connected to healthcare.gov. Consumers can now sign up for insurance — free of charge — at brick and mortar locations stocked with insurance brokers in northern and southern Nevada. Health Link also has a new executive director, Bruce Gilbert.

“This year poses the additional challenge of regaining the public’s trust, and while we knew from the outset it would be difficult, this news is a welcomed sign that many Nevadans are willing to give us another chance,” Gilbert said in a media release.

The latest enrollment figures don’t reflect whether the consumers are first-time health insurance buyers or returning customers. Because Nevada switched from the state-run system to the federal one, all consumers who successfully purchased plans were told to re-enroll.

Consumers have until Dec. 15 to purchase a plan that will begin on Jan. 1. Open enrollment is scheduled to end Feb. 15. Plans will start in February or March if consumers purchase insurance after the mid-December cutoff.

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