Anthem Funds Rheumatology Fellowship at UNLV
The endowment supports one two-year fellowship at a time, aimed at keeping rheumatologists practicing in Southern Nevada.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Arthritis
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Southern Nevada patients who need a rheumatologist may soon have more local training pipeline after Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield committed $2 million to the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. The gift creates a permanent endowment for a two-year rheumatology fellowship.
Why it matters
Nevada has one rheumatologist for every 125,000 residents and ranks 49th out of 50 states in availability, so Las Vegas-area patients often wait months to see a specialist. A study in Arthritis Care & Research projects Nevada will reach less than half the rheumatologist workforce it needs by 2037.
The $2 million endowment funds one fellow at a time in a two-year program, against a state ratio of one rheumatologist per 125,000 Nevadans. Nevada ranks 49th of 50 states, and the projected 2037 workforce adequacy of 44.4 percent is the third-lowest nationally.
The players
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
The health insurer that committed $2 million to establish the rheumatology fellowship endowment.
Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV
The Las Vegas medical school that will host and administer the rheumatology fellowship.
The details
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announced the gift at a UNLV event on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, after about two years of planning. The permanent endowment will fund a two-year fellowship in which trainees work under existing rheumatologists at the medical school, with the aim of keeping graduates practicing in the community. Rheumatology is one of several specialties in Southern Nevada facing physician shortages.
Timeline
Two years before the announcement: planning for the endowment began.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: Anthem announced the $2 million gift at UNLV.
2037: the projected year for Nevada's rheumatologist workforce benchmark.
Beyond the Strip
The 2037 projection in Arthritis Care & Research puts Nevada's rheumatologist workforce at 44.4 percent of what the state will need, which is the third-lowest in the nation. This gift adds one funded training slot, a small step against a gap the study expects to widen.
If you live with joint pain or inflammatory arthritis in Southern Nevada, the endowment is a long-term change, not something you can book this month. Keep asking your primary care doctor for a rheumatology referral if symptoms persist, since specialist wait times are the current reality.
The takeaway
The fellowship is a single funded position, so its impact will build slowly, but it targets a shortage the state's own numbers show is serious. Watch for announcements from the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine on when the first fellow begins.
Further reading
For more on how arthritis is diagnosed and treated, see our Arthritis coverage.
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