New Agreement Enables Expanded Access to Health Insurance for Utah Residents Through Internet Platform
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/19/09 -- eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH), parent
company of eHealthInsurance (http://www.ehealthinsurance.com), today
announced that it has entered into an agreement with the State of Utah to
use eHealth's internet platform and technology to connect Utah residents to
individual health insurance through the state's planned Utah
Health Exchange located at http://www.exchange.utah.gov.
The agreement provides for the state's online insurance exchange to link to
a designated online portal from eHealth that will support the selection of,
and enrollment in, private individual and family health insurance. The
eHealth technology platform will be an online destination for residents to
view a comprehensive selection of private individual and family health
insurance plans in Utah and utilize consumer-friendly decision-support
tools such as plan comparisons, physician choice, information resources and
online applications and approvals.
The agreement between the state of Utah and eHealth is an important step
towards achieving the goals of Utah's House Bill 133 (HB133). HB133, the
"Health System Reform" bill, which was signed into law on March 19, 2008,
requires Utah's Governor's Office of Economic Development to develop an
Internet resource that will increase access to quality health care for the
state's estimated 2.73 million citizens.
Under the agreement announced today, eHealth will provide an online
individual health insurance capability that will allow Utah residents to
find, compare and apply for private health insurance plans. Consumers in
Utah will be able to access eHealth through the Utah Health Exchange, which
is currently in the planning and development stages.
eHealth is licensed to sell health insurance in the state of Utah.
eHealth's consumer web site, http://www.ehealthinsurance.com, currently
offers Utah residents access to over 70 Health Insurance plans from leading
companies like SelectHealth, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, Humana
and Altius.
"Connecting more Americans to health coverage is a national priority, but
it must also be a collective effort," said Gary Lauer, eHealth President
and CEO. "The State of Utah has taken a leadership role in health care
reform by embracing innovative, consumer-driven technology to increase
access to health care for the citizens of Utah.
