MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, Oct. 6, 2009 (Marketwire) --

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/06/09 -- College students need to be educated on the basics of health insurance, according to a recent national survey(1) conducted by Kelton Research and sponsored by eHealthInsurance. In response to this need, eHealthInsurance (NASDAQ: EHTH) today published Health Insurance 101, a new step-by-step guide to educate college and graduate students on the variety of individual health insurance options they face going into the school year.

As the leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses, eHealthInsurance has made the new guide available online at www.ehealthinsurance.com/101guide.

While most students value health insurance, the majority were ill-informed when it came to identifying costs and benefits. According to the survey:

• Less than half felt they could confidently define basic health insurance terminology. Only 29% understood the meaning of a premium, 44% knew the meaning of a deductible, and fewer could explain co-insurance (15%) and annual out of pocket maximums (23%).
  
  
• College students assume that a number of key benefits -- such as prescription drug coverage (61%) and maternity needs (40%) -- will be provided for them on any individual health insurance plan, when in many cases they are not automatically included.

Many students may assume that the school-sponsored plan is their only option -- another box to check during the enrollment process. While school-sponsored plans provide a good option for students, plans of this sort may not cover medical services rendered off campus, may have low caps or may drop your coverage when students reduce credit hours or graduate. In fact, a recent study conducted by Lookout Mountain Group, a non-profit student health study group, states that many student health insurance/benefits plans "offered and endorsed by colleges and universities are based on outdated models and are woefully inadequate."(2)

The new Health Insurance 101 guide includes a helpful matrix of all options for college students, comparing the pros and cons of school-sponsored plans, individual health insurance plans, student health insurance and plans covered by parents.

The guide also includes the following critical steps to help students make informed decisions on health insurance this school year:

• Step one, "Know Why You Need It," addresses the value and necessity of health insurance.
  
  
• Step two, "Bone Up on the Lingo," provides basic definitions about terms and acronyms necessary to start researching and comparing plans.