Company Background

eHealth, Inc. - Company Background

Founded in 1997, eHealthInsurance, the operating subsidiary for the domestic United States health insurance business of eHealth, Inc., was the first online service to feature side-by-side health plan comparisons and offer electronic processing of health insurance applications. By 2001, eHealthInsurance or its employees were licensed to sell insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Today, guided by an experienced management team, eHealthInsurance continues to define the online United States health insurance market by simplifying and automating the health insurance purchasing process.

Changing the Way Americans Look for Health Insurance

As the leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses in the United States, eHealthInsurance brings consumers in the United States more than 7,000 health insurance plans from more than 160 leading health insurance companies on its Web site, www.ehealthinsurance.com. Consumer-friendly tools and resources deliver comprehensive information that is free from sales pressure, while proprietary technology simplifies and speeds the application and approval process. The company's commitment to and investment in customer care is underscored by its large team of customer care professionals dedicated to providing assistance in connection with the purchase of health insurance in the United States. All of this enables consumers in the United States to choose the health insurance plan that is right for them.

By specializing in health insurance and by bringing that expertise to the Internet, eHealth continues to develop solutions for the growing number of Americans - the self-employed, the uninsured, the unemployed, small business owners and students - for whom finding the right health insurance has traditionally been a difficult, lengthy process.

Destination www.ehealthinsurance.com

Designed from the user's perspective, the eHealthInsurance Web site has a friendly interface and intuitive navigation that eliminates the need for consumers to sort through stacks of complex health plan materials. Consumers have online access to convenient evaluation tools, clear eligibility requirements, and straightforward language.

In addition, eHealthInsurance has made the application approval process more efficient through the creation of online applications, the implementation of e-signature and e-payment technology, and the development of interactive links with health insurance companies. As a result, eHealthInsurance facilitates a faster health insurance approval process.

Key Partners - Health Insurance Companies

United States Small business owners and individuals who visit the eHealthInsurance Web site find in one place a wide selection of health plans, including PPOs, Health Savings Account-eligible plans, HMOs, indemnity plans, short-term plans, student plans and dental plans. These plans are from leading health insurance companies across the United States.

The Human Touch

Customer care in the United States is fundamental to meeting the evolving needs of consumers. And while eHealthInsurance's primary delivery and communication channel is the Internet, a key to the company's success is the importance it places on person-to-person communication.

Customers in the United States can use the eHealthInsurance Customer Care Center as much or as little as they like in connection with the purchase of health insurance. Whether a customer has a question about health plan coverage, would like to check the status of an application or needs information on eligibility requirements, more than 50 United States licensed customer care representatives are ready to provide assistance, either through online chat, by phone, email or fax.

Breakthrough Technology

eHealth has invested significant financial and human resources in building a unique and scalable e-commerce platform. The company was the first to bring to consumers a number of technologies that have streamlined the complex and traditionally paper-intensive health insurance sales process in the United States. Some of these technologies include:

• plan comparison and recommendation tools that distill voluminous health insurance information and enable consumers to select health insurance plans that best meet their particular needs;
• a streamlined online application process. Transparent to the user, our online applications are dynamic and request only the information required in the particular circumstance. The system also checks the applicant's answers and gives immediate notification of any missing information. This real-time process can save weeks over the traditional, paper-based process, where incomplete applications are mailed back and forth between carriers, agents and applicants;
• a proprietary back-office customer relationship management system that personalizes the process. This includes enabling each applicant to receive instant email notifications as their application moves through the review and approval process with a health insurance carrier; and
• the Electronic Processing Interchange (EPI) technology that enables consumers to use electronic payments and digital signatures to complete the process online, saving them days in the application and approval processes. When it is offered, EPI provides consumers exceptional efficiency in their purchase of health insurance.

Building the Future

eHealthInsurance has been a catalyst for change in the United States health insurance industry, providing many consumers transparency that they never had before the Internet existed. The company continues to bring improvements and innovations to the process of buying health insurance. In addition to saving consumers time when buying health insurance with its electronic processes, in the United States the company integrated a universal physician directory and search tool in the United States for its individual and family health insurance plans. This tool, available for many of the health insurance plans on the site, gives people an opportunity to find plans that cover the services of their favorite physicians. Many other improvements simply make it easier to compare plans side-by-side and understand all the terminology involved in a health insurance plan. Simply stated, eHealthInsurance has changed the way Americans look for health insurance.

<<Back