Benchmark $497/mo · +22.3% approved · Nevada Health Link
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 21 States
A 40-year-old carpenter in Nevada faces a benchmark premium of $497/month for 2026, up from $414 in 2025. That is 20% below the national benchmark of $625. Carriers were approved for an average increase of +22.3%.
Most pages on this site are built from the CMS Landscape file, which covers only healthcare.gov states. Nevada left that platform and runs Nevada Health Link, so it appears in no CMS release at all — which is precisely why Nevada numbers are hard to find and why most comparison sites quietly skip it. The figures below were assembled from Nevada rate approvals and the national benchmark series instead.
Nevada is the rare case where approved rates came in above what carriers requested — a 17.5% average request became 22.3% approved. Two new carriers, CareSource and Community Care Health Plans, entered for 2026 while rates rose.
| Nevada — 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Benchmark premium, age 40 (2026) | $497 |
| Benchmark premium, age 40 (2025) | $414 |
| Year-over-year change | +20.0% |
| Approved average rate increase | +22.3% |
| Versus the national benchmark ($625) | -20% |
| Rank among your 21 licensed states | 4 of 21 |
| Counties | 17 |
| Carriers on the exchange | 8 |
| Exchange | Nevada Health Link (state-run since 2020) |
| Carrier | Network | Members | 2026 approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| SilverSummit | — | 24,801 | +26.7% |
| Sierra Health & Life | — | 10,013 | +26.6% |
| Hometown Health Plan | — | 5,139 | +10.4% |
| Hometown Health Providers | — | 2,509 | +0.0% |
| Health Plan of Nevada | — | — | +20.7% |
| HMO Nevada | — | — | +25.7% |
| Molina Healthcare | — | 21 | -18.5% |
Eight carriers filed 140 qualified health plans for 2026, but Nevada is heavily concentrated in Clark and Washoe counties; the 15 rural counties have far less choice.
Sources: Nevada Division of Insurance 2026 approved rate filings; Nevada Health Link. KFF, “Marketplace Average Benchmark Premiums,” 2026. Benchmark is the second-lowest-cost Silver plan for a 40-year-old, weighted by plan selections.
Injury exposure makes the out-of-pocket maximum, not the premium, the number that decides a bad year.
Occupational context: Saw and nail-gun injuries; hearing loss; back strain from lifting.
To be clear about what this does and does not affect: a Nevada carrier cannot ask your occupation, cannot charge a carpenter more than anyone else of the same age in the same ZIP, and cannot exclude a condition you already have. Occupation only tells you which plan structure to shop for.
Ranked on the benchmark premium, the one measure published on the same basis for every state. Cheaper: Maryland ($414), Virginia ($455), Indiana ($474). More expensive: Ohio ($513), Michigan ($523), Colorado ($557).
You buy where you live, not where you work, so treat this as context rather than a shopping list. A genuine move does open a special enrollment period.
Expense categories that typically apply to this trade: Tools, truck, lumber, jobsite travel, liability insurance. Health premiums are generally deductible above the line under IRC §162(l) when no employer plan is available to you or a spouse. The deduction lowers your AGI, and AGI sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other — worth raising with your CPA before you enroll rather than after.
Nevada’s 2026 benchmark premium is $497 a month for a 40-year-old. The national benchmark is $625, so Nevada sits below average.
The 2026 benchmark premium in Nevada is $497 per month for a 40-year-old, up from $414 in 2025. That is full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
Carriers in Nevada were approved for an average increase of 22.3%. Filings across the country cited the expiry of the enhanced federal premium tax credits at the end of 2025, rising medical and drug costs, and expectations that healthier people would drop coverage.
No. Exchange plans are guaranteed issue and community rated. Price varies only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size. Occupation is not a rating factor.
No. Nevada runs its own exchange, Nevada Health Link, state-operated since 2020. You enrolll there rather than on healthcare.gov.
This page compares states. For Nevada specifically — county-level carriers and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Carpenters in Nevada and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.