UPDATE - February 3, 2026:
Kaiser Permanente and Renown Health have officially completed their joint venture, clearing the way for expanded access to affordable, high-quality care in Northern Nevada beginning in 2027.
The finalized transaction establishes joint ownership of Hometown Health and marks Kaiser Permanente’s formal entry into the Northern Nevada market.
Under the agreement, Kaiser Permanente and Renown Health will jointly operate a health plan and develop a new outpatient care delivery system in the region.
“Our mission calls us to bring high-quality, affordable health care and coverage to more people and communities,” said Greg A. Adams, chair and chief executive officer of Kaiser Permanente. “This joint venture with Renown Health allows us to extend our value-based care model and nation-leading health outcomes to Northern Nevada, in collaboration with Renown Health’s trusted local teams. Together, we will improve health outcomes; expand access to affordable, high-quality care; and serve the needs of this growing community.”
Kaiser Permanente will introduce its integrated care and coverage model while partnering exclusively with Renown Health for hospital, specialty, emergency, inpatient, and surgical services.
The joint venture includes plans to operate the existing Del Monte Lane medical offices, open two additional outpatient facilities in 2026, and introduce Kaiser Permanente-owned retail pharmacies in 2027.
New health plan options for Northern Nevada residents are currently in development, with enrollment expected to begin for the 2027 plan year, pending regulatory requirements.
There are no immediate changes to current Hometown Health or Kaiser Permanente coverage, care teams, or benefits. Additional details about plan options and enrollment will be shared ahead of fall 2026 open enrollment.
“This joint venture is about meeting the evolving needs of our community and providing more choices for patients and employers in a growing region,” said Brian Erling, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Renown Health. “Renown Health’s deep roots in northern Nevada, combined with Kaiser Permanente’s national leadership in care and coverage, will help us deliver on our shared mission to make high-quality care more accessible and affordable for all.”
ORIGINAL STORY - September 10, 2025:
Renown Health and Kaiser Permanente announced an agreement to jointly own a health insurance plan called Kaiser Permanente Nevada. Pending regulatory approval, Kaiser Permanente Nevada will open enrollment for health plan coverage to employers and northern Nevadans beginning next year.
Dr. Brian Erling, the President and CEO of Renown Health, says partnering Hometown Health - the insurance arm of Renown Health - with the national not-for-profit will afford our community more access to affordable medical care. "This collaboration strengthens our ability to keep care local, while bringing the scale, expertise, and innovation of a national leader. Together, we are ensuring that individuals, families, and employers across the state have more choices and better coverage." Dr. Erling emphasized that Renown's hospitals and clinics will remain unchanged.
Through this joint venture agreement, Kaiser Permanente will acquire a majority interest in Hometown Health. "Kaiser Permanente will be purchasing slightly more than 50% of Hometown Health and will become the majority owner, which allows them to bring all the Kaiser technology, the apps, and all of their buying power." Dr. Erling adds that the buying power of a company that serves 13 million members in eight states can help with pharmaceuticals, an expensive part of running a health insurance company.
The hope is that this joint venture will also be a shot in the arm for the only Nevada-based, not-for-profit health insurance company. Dr. Erling says, "Coming out of the pandemic, the health plan had lost about half our membership, which was common around the country."
Hometown Health CEO, Bethany Sexton, adds that remote work also impacted the insurer. "So employers might have been based here in Reno, but then they had one or two or five or 10 employees who might have been out of the area with all the remote work, and that is a challenging space as a health insurer - when we're domiciled here in the state of Nevada - to be able to offer them something that was a meaningful health plan offering." In an effort to do that, Dr. Erling says, "We needed a large partner that was large enough to make the appropriate investments to bring the technology and the care pathway platforms that, as a smaller regional health insurance company, we struggle with."
Sexton says that, along with providing greater access to care for our growing population, this partnership will also help employers who are facing rising operational costs. "We all know within health care, employers every day are facing increasing costs on so many fronts - not to mention health plan costs - and it's certainly a goal of the joint venture to make sure we have great value out in the market."
While Renown's hospitals and clinics will remain the same, Dr. Erling says this collaboration will allow for more access to multispecialty care, diagnostic, pharmacy, and ancillary services. "The plan is three new clinics in the first three years. All of that growth requires new jobs, so we're really excited for what this will bring to our community."
Greg Adams, the CEO of Kaiser Permanente, has deep roots in northern Nevada. He worked as a nursing leader at Washoe Medical Center before it became Renown. He says it’s “wonderful to be back and to see the remarkable progress, incredible growth and innovation happening here today.”
There will be no immediate changes to Hometown Health/Senior Care Plus plans, networks, or points of contact during the transition period through 2026.
Pending approval by the Department of Insurance, Kaiser Permanente Nevada will be contracted exclusively with Renown and will begin offering plans for 2027.
