eHealth, Inc: Ready to Connect Americans to Coverage

WASHINGTON, DC -- (Marketwire) -- 07/21/09 -- Today eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) launched Ready2Connect.org, a website designed to focus national attention on the issue of enrollment as a critical part of health reform legislation.

A strategy for connecting uninsured Americans to health insurance is critical, should universal access to coverage be granted or mandated by Congress. Among many public policy matters under discussion, federal lawmakers are debating the idea of "health insurance exchanges" -- online marketplaces for health insurance -- how they should work and the function they should serve.

"Medicare Part D and other major expansions in access to care have taught us that the time to think about a speedy enrollment strategy is now," said Gary Lauer, chairman and CEO of eHealth, Inc. "It would be unacceptable to reform the health care system only to see years of delay on implementation, or worse, to see a process that's confusing, inefficient or simply unsuccessful. Ready2Connect.org aims to start that discussion and engage partners in the effort to get America ready to connect to health coverage."

The site includes:

-- A short video explaining how health insurance exchanges can work;

-- Research, consumer surveys and third-party reports on health coverage, quality, and costs and benefits;

-- Public policy recommendations for creating a highly functional exchange system, based on eHealth's decade-plus of experience helping nearly two million Americans secure coverage.

eHealth believes that no single approach to enrollment serves everyone's needs. There should be many paths to coverage; offline and online, in-person, through affinity programs, licensed agents and more.

Lauer continued, "There are those that believe a single government exchange is the best strategy to adopt, but we know from experience that a nation as diverse as ours needs and deserves a multifaceted enrollment strategy. Massachusetts' efforts at health reform provide one such model: the Bay State, which boasts the lowest percentage of uninsurance in the nation, allows people to secure coverage through an array of distribution channels. Congress should contemplate people's needs around enrollment as it works to craft health reform legislation."

About eHealth, Inc.:

eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) is the parent company of eHealthInsurance, the nation's leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses. Through the company's website, http://www.ehealthinsurance.com, consumers can get quotes from leading health insurance carriers, compare plans side by side, determine if their doctors accept certain policies, and apply for and purchase health insurance. eHealthInsurance offers thousands of health plans underwritten by more than 180 of the nation's health insurance companies. eHealthInsurance is licensed to sell health insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. eHealthInsurance and eHealth are registered trademarks of eHealthInsurance Services, Inc.

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