Retail-Based Healthcare Kiosks Being Used to Educate Consumers on Their Health Insurance Options as the New Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment Begins
SANTA CLARA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/01/13 --
SoloHealth®, a consumer-driven healthcare technology company, and eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH), parent company of eHealthInsurance, announced today at the Health2.0 conference in San Francisco a strategic partnership to help expand consumer awareness and enrollment in individual, family and Medicare health insurance plans. The partnership makes eHealth's plan selection and comparison tools available, in selected geographies, to many of the more than 130,000 people who use the SoloHealth Stations every day across America. SoloHealth Station users will be able to easily explore their health insurance options via eHealthInsurance.com, the nation's first and largest private online health insurance exchange.
"We are excited to partner with eHealth to make insurance options more easily available and accessible to our consumers engaging daily with our SoloHealth Stations across the nation," said Bart Foster, CEO & Founder of SoloHealth. "With state health insurance marketplaces opening today, we are pleased to be part of spreading awareness and information to empower consumers to take control of their healthcare and find plans that fit their personal needs."
Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most individuals and families to have major medical health insurance that meets minimum federal standards or be subject to a tax penalty. Beginning today, consumers around the country are able to shop for and enroll in 2014 health insurance plans meeting the coverage requirements of the ACA, without fear of being declined for coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions. Coverage under new, reformed health plans may begin as early as January 1, 2014.
"We're pleased to be partnering with SoloHealth whose convenient, easy-to-use kiosks engage with millions of consumers in a contextually relevant manner when healthcare is top of mind," said Bill Shaughnessy, President and Chief Operating Officer of eHealth. "The Affordable Care Act is expected to expand health insurance access to more Americans and consumers need to have simple and effective tools to better understand their options and enroll in the individual, family and Medicare plans that best meet their needs."
The SoloHealth Station, an FDA-cleared, HIPAA-compliant and patented technology, provides consumers with a digital, self-service healthcare platform that includes free health and wellness services, biometric screenings, health risk assessments and information. The SoloHealth Station is located in more than 3,200 retail locations nationwide. The Stations average more than 130,000 consumers per day each spending approximately 4.5 minutes per session. To date, the Stations have garnered more than 32 million consumer engagements. Consumer messaging occurs through dynamic and targeted content like banners, surveys, videos and digital signage.
About eHealth: eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) operates eHealthInsurance, the Nation'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 PlanPrescriber.com (www.planprescriber.com) and eHealthMedicare.com (www.eHealthMedicare.com).
ABOUT SOLOHEALTH: Based in Atlanta, Ga., SoloHealth® is a leader in self-service consumer healthcare, utilizing patented technology to deploy interactive health screening kiosks to empower consumers about their health through awareness, education and convenience. In summer 2010, the company received a $1.2 M grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to help enable innovation for self-service healthcare and prevention. In 2011, SoloHealth announced its next-generation kiosk, the SoloHealth Station, offering vision, blood pressure, weight, symptoms checking, body mass index, overall health assessment; and access to a database of local doctors. The company's bilingual kiosks provide free health screenings and recommendations for follow-up care, which leads to prevention and lower health care costs. Strategic investors and partners include Outerwall Inc. (NASDAQ: OUTR), Walter Huff (founder of HBOC), WellPoint and Dell. For more information, visit www.solohealth.com or @SoloHealth.
SoloHealth Contact
Amy Sorrells
amy.sorrells@solohealth.com
404-550-4885
eHealth Contact
Brian Mast
brian.mast@ehealthinsurance.com
650-210-3149
Source: eHealthInsurance
