Nevada's Healthcare Reset: Can a New Alliance Fix a Broken System?

RENO, NV – April 27, 2026 – Confronted by what they describe as a “broken” and unsustainable healthcare market, three organizations have formed a landmark partnership to overhaul how healthcare is delivered and paid for across Nevada. ReForm Health Alliance, Prominence Health, and Avergent Health announced today the launch of the state's first High-Performing Health Plan (HPHP) initiative, a collaborative effort aimed at eliminating billions of dollars in wasted spending and shifting the focus from volume of services to the value of care.

The alliance represents a direct challenge to a system that has left employers and employees struggling under the weight of runaway costs. By uniting a non-profit employer coalition, a major value-based care organization, and a national HPHP innovator, the initiative seeks to replace misaligned incentives with transparency, accountability, and a people-centered approach to health.

A Market at a Breaking Point

The announcement arrives at a critical juncture for Nevada's economy and its workforce. The claim of a “broken” market is not mere rhetoric; it is supported by stark economic realities facing the state. Nevada is staring down some of the steepest health insurance premium hikes in the nation, with proposed average increases on the state's health exchange reaching 17.5% for the upcoming year—the sixth-largest jump in the United States. For some, the increases are even more dramatic, with certain popular plans facing potential premium hikes of nearly 40%.

This financial pressure is not confined to the individual market. Public and private employers are grappling with untenable cost growth that far outpaces inflation and wage increases. The burden is often shifted directly onto employees through higher deductibles, copays, and out-of-pocket expenses, creating financial barriers to necessary care. This situation is compounded by significant healthcare workforce shortages across the state, with an estimated 65% of Nevada's population living in a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area, further straining access to quality care.

“The status-quo healthcare system is unsustainable,” said Michael Lubin, CEO of ReForm Health Alliance NV, in a statement. “The fixes already exist. ReForm was created to educate and empower employers with knowledge and solutions to control spending and improve the value of the benefits they offer. We're excited to see the early results of our partnership as we pursue our mission to strengthen Nevada communities by returning $3.5B to employers annually by eliminating spending waste.”

A Fundamental Shift from Volume to Value

The core of the new initiative is the adoption of a High-Performing Health Plan model. Unlike traditional insurance plans that often operate on a fee-for-service basis—rewarding the quantity of procedures performed—an HPHP is designed to optimize both cost and quality. It rebuilds the healthcare supply chain to favor transparency and aligned incentives, ensuring that providers, plans, and patients are all working toward the same goal: better health outcomes at a sustainable cost.

This model empowers employers to move from being passive price-takers to active purchasers of high-value healthcare. The first phase of the partnership will see these strategies deployed immediately across the 1,600+ employer customers of Prominence Health, a major value-based care organization with deep roots in the state.

“Employers and their employees are both feeling the weight of a healthcare system whose costs have outpaced wages, inflation, and any reasonable planning assumption,” noted Kamal Jemmoua, CEO of Prominence Health. “The traditional commercial health plan model wasn't designed to solve this... Prominence believes employers and their workforce should be on the same side of the cost problem, not opposite sides of it. Our partnership is a step in that direction.”

The Human Element: 'Hand on the Shoulder' Support

Central to the initiative's people-centered promise is a signature program from Avergent Health called Collaborative Care. This model provides members with what the company describes as 'hand on the shoulder' support from an expert team of clinicians. This team proactively guides patients through complex care journeys, helping them navigate the system, identify the best doctors, and access high-quality care, all while removing financial barriers like deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for many services.

By providing expert assistance, the model aims to prevent unnecessary procedures and spending, which are often driven by patient confusion and a lack of guidance within a complex system. The initial response suggests a significant appetite for this new approach. According to the alliance, Prominence Health employers that have already implemented the Collaborative Care model are reporting member enrollment rates exceeding 70% within the first two weeks—a powerful signal that Nevada's workforce is ready for a healthcare experience built around their needs.

“In healthcare, cost and quality don't always align—yet most patients and employers lack the guidance to navigate that reality,” explained Drew Leatherberry, CEO of Avergent Health. “By helping identify the right doctors and care paths, Avergent's Collaborative Care model is redefining how health plans deliver better outcomes.”

From Business Expo to the Governor's Race

The alliance is wasting no time in taking its message to the public. The rollout includes a series of community engagements, starting with a prominent presence at the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce's Biggest Business Expo on May 7, 2026. Representatives from all three organizations will be on hand to explain how the partnership is set to reshape the local healthcare economy.

In a particularly bold move, the alliance is also extending its HPHP model directly into the political arena. They are formally inviting candidates in Nevada's 2026 primary elections—from the governor's race and congressional seats to local mayoral contests—to adopt the HPHP framework as a cornerstone of their healthcare platforms. This strategic push aims to embed the principles of value-based, sustainable healthcare into state and local policy, demonstrating a long-term commitment to systemic reform.

By combining immediate market action with broad community and political engagement, this three-way partnership is not just launching a new product; it is attempting to start a movement. It presents a potential blueprint for how other states can tackle entrenched healthcare dysfunction, making the Nevada HPHP initiative a closely watched experiment in the national quest for better, more affordable care.