Medicaid applications in Nevada skyrocketed by an average of 62% in December 2025 and this January and February over the same months a year earlier.
The largest spike was in January, when the average daily number of pending applications for three categories of Medicaid – family medical; aged, blind, and disabled; and unregistered applicants (those who have not been added to the state tracking system) – jumped to 21,400, up 79% from 12,193 in January 2025.
The largest January increase was 16,834 applications for family medical care, up 87% from 8,999 in 2025. Pending applications for individuals new to Medicaid in Nevada increased from 705 in January 2025 to 1,226 in January of this year, up 73%. The average daily number of pending applications for aged, blind, and disabled coverage jumped from 2,489 in January 2025 to 3,340 this year, an increase of 34%.
Nevada Health Authority Director Stacie Weeks attributes the January increase to a delay in transferring applications filed with Nevada Health Link, the state exchange, to Medicaid, for those who may be eligible.
“Inevitably, we find a good number of folks shopping for health insurance each year during open enrollment are actually eligible for Medicaid and did not know it until they sought coverage through the Nevada Health Link,” Weeks said. “This increases the number of file transfers to DSS from the Nevada Health Link for processing.”
The delay “appears to have been addressed over the last quarter which increased applications to Division of Social Services for Medicaid eligibility that were reflected in January’s spike,” Weeks said via email Friday.
Nevadans filed 13,234 applications for Medicaid in December, a 43.5% increase from a year earlier, while the 17,389 applications filed in February represent a 66% increase from February 2025.
The Nevada Health Authority does not know how many of the transferred applicants are eligible for Medicaid. “We are working on this data and will review next quarter,” a spokesperson said.
Individuals in states with Medicaid expansion, such as Nevada, can qualify for coverage if they earn up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The 2026 guideline for a household of one is annual income up to $15,960 and $33,000 for a family of four.
Another reason for the spike in Medicaid applications is more people “seeking coverage during the last quarter of 2025 due to (the) open enrollment period in the Nevada Health Link and increased marketing for coverage and people seeking to check out the new public option,” Weeks said.
Public option plans offer the same benefits that are required under the ACA, but at a lower cost.
The Nevada Division of Insurance approved an average increase of 26% in 2026 for Affordable Care Act plans sold on Nevada Health Link. Some 85,000 to 94,500 Nevadans were expected to lose or receive reduced subsidies for their ACA plans after Republicans refused to extend them.
“Lastly, we believe this spike is reflective of the continued and increased value Nevadans place on health insurance and why state exchanges are an important online door for people to find affordable coverage, including Medicaid, depending on their income and circumstances,” Weeks said.
In Nevada, approximately one in four residents relies on Medicaid, including an estimated 300,000 adults covered by the ACA Medicaid expansion.
Nevada stands to lose about $590 million in Medicaid benefits in the next decades as a result of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act. That amounts to a loss of coverage for more than 114,000 recipients.