Health Care Reform: New eHealth, Inc. Public Policy Website Addresses Need for National Enrollment Strategy

eHealth, Inc: Ready to Connect Americans to Coverage

WASHINGTON, DC -- (Marketwire) -- 07/21/09 -- Today eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) launchedReady2Connect.org, a websitedesigned to focus national attention on the issue of enrollment as acritical 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 aredebating the idea of "health insurance exchanges" -- online marketplacesfor health insurance -- how they should work and the function they shouldserve.

"Medicare Part D and other major expansions in access to care have taughtus that the time to think about a speedy enrollment strategy is now," saidGary Lauer, chairman and CEO of eHealth, Inc. "It would be unacceptable toreform the health care system only to see years of delay on implementation,or worse, to see a process that's confusing, inefficient or simplyunsuccessful. Ready2Connect.org aims to startthat discussion and engage partners in the effort to get America ready toconnect 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 forcreating a highly functional exchange system, based on eHealth'sdecade-plus of experience helping nearly two million Americans securecoverage.

eHealth believes that no single approach to enrollment serves everyone'sneeds. 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 exchangeis the best strategy to adopt, but we know from experience that a nation asdiverse as ours needs and deserves a multifaceted enrollment strategy.Massachusetts' efforts at health reform provide one such model: the BayState, 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 tocraft health reform legislation."

About eHealth, Inc.:

eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) is the parent company of eHealthInsurance, thenation'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 leadinghealth insurance carriers, compare plans side by side, determine if theirdoctors accept certain policies, and apply for and purchase healthinsurance. eHealthInsurance offers thousands of health plans underwrittenby more than 180 of the nation's health insurance companies.eHealthInsurance is licensed to sell health insurance in all 50 states andthe District of Columbia. eHealthInsurance and eHealth are registeredtrademarks of eHealthInsurance Services, Inc.