eHealth Announces Partnership with The IHC Group to Bring Health Insurance Shoppers Affordable Alternatives for the Affordable Care Act’s 2018 Open…

Managed Care Weekly Digest

eHealth Announces Partnership with The IHC Group to Bring Health Insurance Shoppers Affordable Alternatives for the Affordable Care Act's 2018 Open Enrollment Period

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) (eHealth.com) has partnered with The IHC Group to offer medical insurance packages to customers unable to afford health insurance plans that meet all the benefit requirements with the Affordable Care Act (the ACA, or Obamacare) (see also Insurance Broker Companies).

These medical insurance packages were developed in partnership with The IHC Group to provide an affordable alternative for people who cannot afford Obamacare-compliant major medical health insurance coverage but who still want meaningful protection against unexpected medical expenses. Medical insurance packages developed by The IHC Group will be available in 37 states and the District of Columbia and provide a single point of service when people need to use their benefits.

These new packages will be available to customers on November 1, 2017, when the 2018 open enrollment period is scheduled to begin.

Offerings may differ by state but these medical insurance packages include varying combinations of both insurance and non-insurance products, such as short-term medical insurance, supplemental (GAP) insurance, fixed-indemnity insurance, telemedicine benefits, prescription drug discount benefits, and medical advocacy services.

"Our partnership with The IHC Group will allow us to create affordable products for our customers who cannot afford major medical Obamacare coverage," said eHealth CEO Scott Flanders. "We've listened to our customers and developed these medical insurance packages to better serve those customers who are not getting what they need from our Obamacare products."

In addition to offering these new medical insurance packages, eHealth continues to offer major medical health insurance plans that meet the coverage requirements of the ACA.

Medical insurance packages do not offer coverage for pre-existing medical conditions and it is possible, with some packages, to be declined coverage based on the presence of pre-existing medical conditions. These products do not provide the same benefits as major medical plans that meet the coverage requirements of the Affordable Care Act. In particular, packages do not provide the full set of minimum essential benefits required by the Affordable Care Act. Persons going without Obamacare-compliant coverage in 2018 may be subject to a tax penalty depending on their individual circumstances. Obamacare's Individual Mandate Exemption & the Affordability Gap A recent analysis1 found that 43 percent of people who buy health insurance in the individual market (7.5 million) don't receive government assistance (advance premium tax credits, commonly referred to as Obamacare subsidies) because they earn more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

The ACA defines health insurance as "unaffordable" when the lowest-priced plan available costs more than 8.16 percent of an individual or family's yearly income (MAGI).

Keywords for this news article include: Health Insurance, Medical Insurance, Affordable Care Act, Financial Companies, Insurance Broker Companies.