eHealth Partners with The IHC Group & SASid Insurance Development to Offer Innovative, Affordable Alternatives to Customers D...
October 18 2017 - 9:15AM
Business Wire
eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) (eHealth.com) announced today that
the company has partnered with The IHC Group and SASid Insurance
Development to offer new medical insurance packages in 39 states
and the District of Columbia for customers who cannot afford major
medical plans meeting the benefit standards of the Affordable Care
Act (the ACA or Obamacare).
In most markets eHealth will offer medical insurance packages
with monthly premiums starting below $200 for persons age 35 and
under $300 for 50-year-olds. These packages will be available
during the ACA’s open enrollment period for 2018, which is
scheduled to begin November 1, 2017.
In addition to these new packages, eHealth will also offer major
medical health insurance plans in 44 states during open
enrollment.
Obamacare’s Affordability Gap
According to a recent analysis1, 43 percent of people who buy
health insurance in the individual market (7.5 million) don’t
receive government assistance (advance premium tax credits,
commonly referred to as Obamacare subsidies) because they earn more
than 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
With premiums expected to rise by more than 20 percent in some
markets, eHealth recently published a report examining health
insurance costs for families that make too much to receive ACA
premium subsidies in 50 U.S. cities and found that a projected 10
percent increase in 2018 would make health insurance unaffordable
in 47 of those cities. The ACA defines health insurance as
“unaffordable” when the lowest-priced plan available costs more
than 8.16 percent of an individual’s or family’s yearly income
(MAGI).
eHealth also analyzed ACA health insurance premiums for
individuals that earn too much to receive ACA premium subsidies in
25 U.S. cities and found that by age 45 health insurance would be
unaffordable in the majority of those cities if premiums rise 10
percent in 2018.
eHealth’s Medical Insurance Packages Provide Affordable
Alternatives
eHealth’s medical insurance packages were developed in
partnership with The IHC Group and SASid Insurance Development to
offer a more affordable alternative to major medical health
insurance to people who cannot afford Obamacare.
“We created these packages in response to pleas from our
customers,” said eHealth CEO Scott Flanders. “Every day, people
call our customer care center and ask for help putting together a
package of benefits they can actually afford.”
"We have a great selection of products they can put together on
their own, but that's a cumbersome process – and when they need to
use their coverage, coordinating the benefits can be a hassle,”
Flanders added. "Our new packages are designed to make medical
coverage both affordable and easy to use."
These packages will be available in 39 states and the District
of Columbia and provide a single point of service when policy
holders need to use their benefits. In another 5 states, eHealth
will offer medical insurance packages that combine benefits from
multiple insurance companies.
Medical insurance packages include varying combinations of
insurance and non-insurance products such as short-term medical,
supplemental (GAP) medical, and fixed indemnity medical as well as
other benefits like telemedicine, prescription drug discounts and
medical advocacy services. Specific benefit combinations vary by
state.
eHealth will continue to refine the design of these packages to
meet varying customer needs and reasonable price points.
These packages are not designed to cover pre-existing medical
conditions and some are medically underwritten. Others are
“guaranteed issue,” meaning that a customer’s application cannot be
declined because of a pre-existing condition, although that
pre-existing condition may not be covered by the package.
Notes:
1As reported on NPR from insurance industry consultant Robert
Laszewski.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are forward-looking
statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These include statements regarding eHealth’s
partnerships with The IHC Group and SASid Insurance Development to
offer medical insurance packages; the availability of medical
insurance packages by November 1, 2017 in 44 states and the
District of Columbia, including in 39 states with packages having a
single point of service and in 5 states with packages combining
benefits from multiple insurance companies; the pricing of medical
insurance packages in most markets starting below $200 for persons
age 35 and under $300 for a 50-year-old; the features and products
contained in medical insurance packages; eHealth’s partnerships
with The IHC Group and SASid Insurance Development allowing eHealth
to creating affordable products for customers who cannot afford
major medical Obamacare coverage; eHealth continuing to refine the
design of packages; and analysis that a 10 percent projected price
increase in 2018 would make coverage unaffordable in 47 out of 50
states for families that earn too much for ACA government subsidies
and in 25 U.S. cities for individuals age 45 who earn too much for
ACA government subsidies for premiums. These forward-looking
statements are inherently subject to various risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from the statements made, including risks associated with:
eHealth’s ability to maintain and perform under the partnerships
with The IHC Group or SASid Insurance Development necessary to
offer medical insurance packages; changes in governmental policy or
regulation or other governmental or regulatory actions affecting
the health insurance market; changes in health insurance premiums;
the accuracy of eHealth’s analysis and projections; changes to the
availability, benefits, pricing, and coverages of medical insurance
packages; and other factors that could cause operating, financial,
and other results to differ, which are described in eHealth’s most
recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and
available on the investor relations page of eHealth’s website
at http://www.ehealthinsurance.com and on the Securities
and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. eHealth
undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to
conform to actual results or changes in intentions or
expectations.
About eHealth
eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ:EHTH) owns eHealth.com, a leading private
online health insurance exchange where individuals, families and
small businesses can compare health insurance products from
brand-name insurers side by side and purchase and enroll in
coverage online and over the phone. eHealth offers thousands of
individual, family and small business health plans underwritten by
many of the nation's leading health insurance companies. eHealth
(through its subsidiaries) is licensed to sell health insurance in
all 50 states and the District of Columbia. eHealth also offers
educational resources, exceptional telephonic support, and powerful
online and pharmacy-based tools to help Medicare beneficiaries
navigate Medicare health insurance options, choose the right plan
and enroll in select plans online or over the phone through
Medicare.com (www.Medicare.com), eHealthMedicare.com
(www.eHealthMedicare.com) and PlanPrescriber.com
(www.PlanPrescriber.com).
For more health insurance news and information, visit
eHealth's Consumer Resource Center.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171018005364/en/
DMA Communications for eHealth, Inc.Sande Drew,
916-207-7674sande.drew@ehealth.comoreHealth, Inc.Nate Purpura,
650-210-3115nate.purpura@ehealth.com
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