Kaiser Permanente sees a safe bet with deal to enter Nevada market
The California system has entered a joint venture with Renown Health to operate a health plan and provide outpatient care services.
Kaiser Permanente is making its move into Nevada, and it may not be a risky bet.
Greg A. Adams, chair and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente, left, and Brian Erling, MD, president and CEO of Renown Health
The California-based health system has reached a deal with Renown Health to form a joint venture to operate a health plan and deliver more outpatient care services in Nevada.
If regulators sign off on the new venture, Kaiser Permanente will gain a majority stake in Renown’s insurance arm, Hometown Health. The new Kaiser Permanente Nevada aims to offer health insurance to employers and residents of northern Nevada in 2026, officials said.
Kaiser Permanente also plans to open an ambulatory health system with locations in central and northern Reno.
With substantial population growth and a strong economy in Nevada, it’s not hard to see why Kaiser Permanente is eager to enter the market. Nevada’s population grew by 1.7% from 2023 to 2024, the second fastest growth in the west, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Greg A. Adams, chair and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente, said in a news release that the system is looking to provide value-based care in more areas, and that it was aiming to satisfy a demand in Nevada.
“Our members, employers, physicians and community members have been asking us to provide our unique offering of value-based care in Nevada for some time," Adams said in a statement.
"Working with the leading health care provider in northern Nevada, we will now have the opportunity to care for more people, help more employers offer coverage to their employees, and in collaboration with Renown Health, improve the health of this growing community,” Adams said.
Brian Erling, MD, president and CEO of Renown Health, said he’s looking forward to offering more affordable health insurance coverage to more people in Nevada.
"This collaboration strengthens our ability to keep care local, while bringing the scale, expertise and innovation of a national leader,” Erling said in a statement. “Together, we are ensuring that individuals, families and employers across the state have more choices and better coverage. Together, we can improve the overall health of the communities we serve and create additional capacity to care for more people."
Erling told KTVN-TV that Renown has seen a substantial drop in membership since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Kaiser Permanente can bring more technology and resources that are difficult for a smaller insurer to provide.
Kaiser Permanente has been expanding into other new markets in the past few years. In December, Kaiser Permanente’s Risant Health completed the acquisition of Cone Health, based in Greensboro, North Carolina.
In addition, Risant Health finalized a deal to acquire Geisinger Health, the Pennsylvania system, in March 2024.
Adams has said that Kaiser Permanente is looking to acquire other hospital systems as it looks to expand its value-based care model.
During an appearance at the HLTH Conference in Las Vegas last year, Adams said, “We’re looking for organizations that are committed to value-based care … we’re looking for organizations that are leaders in their community.”
But Adams also said that the system isn’t looking to acquire hospital systems that are struggling financially.
“We’re looking for organizations that on their own can be financially sound,” Adams said at HLTH.
Renown Health operates two acute care hospitals, a children's hospital, a trauma center, a rehabilitation hospital, and other healthcare locations.
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