Baby Boomers: Not Saving for Retirement, Don't Understand Medicare -- eHealth Survey Finds

Sep 19, 2012
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Sep 19, 2012 (Marketwire via COMTEX) --Today eHealth, Inc (NASDAQ: EHTH) released results from a survey of consumers who purchased health insurance through eHealthInsurance.com. The eHealth Baby Boomer Survey found that 64 percent of baby boomers felt they were not saving enough for their own retirement. The majority (69%) said they expected to be working after their 65th birthday, either because they want to (31%) or because they feel they'll have to (38%) in order to make ends meet. eHealth, Inc. is the parent company of eHealthInsurance, America's first and largest health insurance exchange.

About 90 percent of the baby boomers surveyed also reported being more concerned about the future of Medicare because of the upcoming presidential election. In spite of concerns about Medicare's future, many did not understand basic parts of how the Medicare program actually works. Many of those surveyed failed to correctly answer four basic questions about commonly accepted "Medicare myths":

  • Myth #1: Medicare works just like regular health insurance -- 60% didn't know this was false.
  • Myth #2: Medicare is free -- 30% didn't know this was false.
  • Myth #3: A person can enroll in Medicare any time after they're 65, without penalty -- 77% didn't know this was false.
  • Myth #4: Medicare covers everything -- 19% didn't know this was false.

Baby Boomer Survey Demographics

  • Age: Nearly half (46%) of the baby boomers surveyed would be eligible for Medicare within 10 years.
  • Gender: Forty-four percent (44%) were male and fifty-six percent (56%) were female.
  • Highest Level of Education: Almost two-thirds of those surveyed (64%) had a college degree. One-in-four (28%) had a master's degree and one-in-three (36%) had a bachelor's degree (36%). One-in-four (25%) had attended, but not completed college; one-in-ten (10%) had graduated high school.
  • Marital Status: The majority (58%) were married. One-in-five were single (22%) or divorced (20%).
  • Employment: Over half (51%) of the baby boomers in the survey were self-employed (29%) or owned a small business (22%). One-in-four (25%) worked for a small business, with anywhere from less than 50 employees (15%) to 200+ employees (10%). One-in-ten (10%) was retired or unemployed (11%), and three percent (3%) were full-time, stay-at-home parents.

eHealth's Baby Boomer Survey can be downloaded in full here or through the eHealth, Inc. Media Center. The URL for the report is: http://news.ehealthinsurance.com/pr/ehi/document/eHealth-BoomerSurvey_091312-3_.pdf

About eHealth
eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) is the parent company of eHealthInsurance, the nation's leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses. Through the company's website, www.eHealthInsurance.com, consumers can get quotes from leading health insurance carriers, compare plans side by side, and apply for and purchase health insurance. eHealthInsurance offers thousands of individual, family and small business health plans underwritten by more than 180 of the nation's leading health insurance companies. eHealthInsurance is licensed to sell health insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, making it the ideal model of a successful, high-functioning health insurance exchange. Through the company's eHealthTechnology solution (www.eHealthTechnology.com), eHealth is also a leading provider of health insurance exchange technology. eHealthTechnology's exchange platform provides a suite of hosted e-commerce solutions that enable health plan providers, resellers and government entities to market and distribute products online. 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 (www.planprescriber.com) and through its Medicare website www.eHealthMedicare.com.  

For more health insurance news and information, visit the eHealthInsurance consumer blog: Get Smart - Get Covered. 

For media inquiries, please contact:
        Sande Drew
        eHealth, Inc.
        (916) 207-7674
        sande.drew@ehealth.com
        Kris Kraves
        Cogenta Communications
        (805) 527-7733 - direct
        mailto: kris@cogentacom.com