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eHealth ObamaCare Countdown: Your First Step to Get Ready for Health Care Reform This Year

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — (Marketwired) — 05/21/13 — Today eHealth, Inc (NASDAQ: EHTH), parent company of eHealthInsurance.com, the nation-s first and largest private online health insurance exchange, published the first step in its six step guide to help consumers prepare for health care reform and this year-s new open enrollment period, which begins Oct. 1, 2013.

Beginning in 2014, individuals and families who do not have major medical health insurance that meets minimum federal standards will be subject to a tax penalty, which has been dubbed “the mandate tax.” The intricacies of the mandate tax will be explained in greater detail in Step 2.

When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, it effectively created three classes of individually-purchased major medical health insurance plans:

: Insurance policies purchased and active before March 23, 2010, when the ACA was signed into law. These plans do not have to meet all the requirements of the law.

: Plans purchased after March 23, 2010, with coverage in effect before January 1, 2014. These purchases took place during the transition to a federally regulated individual health insurance market. All non-grandfathered plans meet some of the new benefit standards required by the ACA, and some plans include them all. Plans that don-t meet all of the new benefit standards may need to be updated at some point in 2014.

: Insurance purchased after January 1, 2014. These plans include all the mandatory benefits required by ACA.

Although the timing is uncertain, the new health care law requires non-grandfathered plans to be updated to the new benefits standards. The table below outlines how, why and when some people in non-grandfathered plans may need to update their coverage:

Shop for health insurance plans from over 200 of America-s leading insurers at

Shop for Medicare plans from some of America-s leading Medicare providers at

Download or request a FREE printed copy of our book, , produced in cooperation with For Dummies®, a branded imprint of Wiley, and co-authored by eHealthInsurance

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eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) is the parent company of , America-s first and largest private health insurance exchange where individuals, families and small businesses can compare health insurance products from leading insurers side by side and purchase and enroll in coverage online. eHealthInsurance offers thousands of individual, family and small business health plans underwritten by more than 200 of the nation-s leading health insurance companies. eHealthInsurance is licensed to sell health insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. eHealth, Inc. also provides powerful online and pharmacy-based tools to help seniors navigate Medicare health insurance options, choose the right plan and enroll in select plans online through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PlanPrescriber.com () and through its Medicare website eHealthMedicare.com ().

For more health insurance news and information, visit the eHealthInsurance consumer blog:

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Sande Drew
eHealth, Inc.
(916) 207-7674

Kris Kraves
Cogenta Communications
(805) 527-7733 – direct