Head of state’s health insurance exchange announces departure
CARSON CITY – Heather Korbulic, executive director of Nevada’s health insurance exchange since 2016, will leave her post Dec. 3, the governor’s office announced Monday.
Korbulic, who served briefly in 2020 as interim head of the state’s unemployment division during the height of pandemic-triggered job losses, leaves after 13 years in state government agencies. She previously worked for eight years in the Aging and Disability Services Division before named to head the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange, the agency where eligible uninsured Nevadans can shop for and purchase affordable health insurance.
In a statement, Gov. Steve Sisolak thanked Korbulic for her “relentless advocacy, unwavering support and commitment to the people of Nevada,” crediting her with building the exchange “into a well-oiled machine” for the state’s uninsured.
“She has always stepped up to the plate to help Nevadans, during some of our darkest days, even at immense personal cost and I am incredibly proud of the work we were able to do together,” he said.
Korbulic in a statement said leaving the post was “not an easy decision,” adding that she had “poured my heart into this work for over six years, and now is the right time to pursue opportunities which will allow me to grow professionally.” She did not announce her next steps.
Korbulic was tapped by Sisolak in April 2020 to head Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation at a time when the agency was inundated processing unemployment claims from job losses stemming from the pandemic. Nevada’s unemployment rate reached an all-time high above 25 percent in May, at the height of the pandemic’s first phase.
As head of the overwhelmed agency, Korbulic oversaw implementation of new pandemic-related benefits programs but became the focal point for attacks from claimants frustrated and angry over processing delays. She left the unemployment division in June, citing threats to her personal safety, and returned to the health insurance exchange.
In January, Sisolak named her to serve as his temporary policy director through the 2021 legislative session.
Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.
