eHealth, Inc. dba eHealthInsurance is a private online marketplace for health insurance, organized in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and based in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

. The company primarily provides plans related to Medicare such as prescription drug plans,

Medigap Medigap (also called Medicare supplement insurance or Medicare supplemental insurance) refers to various private health insurance plans sold to supplement Medicare in the United States. Medigap insurance provides coverage for many of the co-pays a ...

, and Medicare Advantage plans. The company also sells individual plans, competing with

health insurance marketplace In the United States, health insurance marketplaces, also called health exchanges, are organizations in each state through which people can purchase health insurance. People can purchase health insurance that complies with the Patient Protectio ...

s. The company sells plans in all 50 U.S. states and the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 170 health insurance carriers. Its large staff of licensed agents assist consumers with little or no computer experience with their online enrollments. The company has a corporate office in

, and satellite offices in

Gold River, California Gold River is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California. The population was 7,812 at the 2010 census, down from 8,023 at the 2000 census. Gold River is part of the Sacramento– Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolit ...

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

History

eHealth, Inc. was founded in 1997. In 2006, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

. In 2010, eHealth acquired PlanPrescriber, Inc. for $28.7 million in cash. PlanPrescriber provides tools to help people choose the right Medicare plan. In 2013, eHealth, along with other "web brokers", signed deals with

Healthcare.gov HealthCare.gov is a health insurance exchange website operated by the United States federal government under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act or ACA, commonly referred to as “Obamacare”, which currently serves the residents of th ...

to enroll subsidy-eligible consumers in the newly approved health plans offered through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In 2014, eHealth acquired the Medicare.com

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...

for $4.8 million. In March 2015, the company announced 72 layoffs, with plans to lay off 160 people. In May 2016, the company appointed

Scott Flanders Scott N. Flanders (born December 26, 1956) is an American corporate executive in the media, entertainment and technology industries. He is currently chief executive officer and long-term member of the board of directors at EHealthInsurance, eHea ...

, a director of the company since 2008, as CEO. Former CEO Gary Lauer continued in an advisory role through the end of 2016. In August 2016, eHealth announced that it had insured 5 million people. In 2017, the company said it rejected

takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...

offers. In 2018, eHealth acquired GoMedigap, a consumer acquisition and engagement electronic platform tailored to

insurance. In 2019 eHealth announced the development of an Eastern Headquarters in

. In March 2020, eHealth announced its follow-on public offering of 1,800,000 shares, priced at $115/share, of its common stock, designed to raise an additional $207M. Three days later they announced the closing of the offering, with the 275,000 share option also having been exercised, raising a net proceeds of approximately $227.5 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated expenses of the offering. In November 2021, eHealth appointed Fran Soistman as CEO. Former CEO Scott Flanders continued in an advisory role through the end of 2021.

Political involvement

In 2013, eHealth's former CEO, Gary Lauer encouraged governors that are planning to create their own online healthcare marketplaces to adopt a cost-free enrollment strategy. In 2015, eHealth's former CEO, Gary Lauer advocated reforms to help the middle-class afford health insurance. In 2017, eHealth CEO Scott Flanders argued publicly for changes to the Affordable Care Act in order to lower costs for self-employed, middle-class workers who cannot afford health insurance.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehealthinsurance Financial services companies established in 1997 1997 establishments in California Internet properties established in 1997 2006 initial public offerings Companies listed on the Nasdaq Health insurance in the United States Online marketplaces of the United States Health insurance marketplaces Companies based in Santa Clara, California