Obamacare open enrollment and prescription drugs: ehealth drug
coverage comparison tool can deliver significant savings on critical rx
costs
Mountain view, calif.--(business wire)--today ehealth, inc. (nasdaq: ehth), which operates ehealth.com, the nation’s first and largest private online health insurance exchange, released figures describing how much money health insurance shoppers could potentially save by using the company’s prescription drug coverage comparison tool during the affordable care act’s (obamacare’s) 2017 open enrollment period, which is scheduled to begin on november 1, 2016. at ehealth.com, people can enter their prescription drugs into ehealth’s drug coverage comparison tool and find the obamacare plan that covers their prescription drugs at the lowest possible price. while all major medical health insurance plans cover prescription drugs, health plans often differ in the specific drugs they cover and the out-of-pocket costs enrollees will face. ehealth analyzed over 25,000 sessions where a customer used the tool outside of open enrollment in 2016. in sixty-four percent of those sessions (over 16,000) people who used the tool found potential savings if they switched to the plan optimized for their prescription drug regimen: the median amount that could be saved was $1,650 70% found $500 or more in potential savings 25% found $4,000 or more in potential savings overall, men found more potential savings ($2,086) than women ($1,272) by age group, potential savings were highest among adults between the ages of 60-64 ($2,019) and 40-49 ($1,969) vs. other age groups the average person entered 2 prescription drugs into the tool when comparing plans “too many people waste money on prescription drugs because they don’t compare the coverage offered under different plans , but now there’s no excuse to stick with a plan that doesn’t meet your needs,” said ehealth ceo scott flanders. “ehealth’s prescription drug coverage comparison tool makes it easy to find and enroll in the plan that’s best for you. our analysis shows that you could potentially save hundreds or even thousands of dollars by enrolling in the right plan for your personal prescription drug needs.” significant potential rx savings for shoppers who use ehealth’s comparison tool in the tables below, ehealth identifies median potential savings for users of the drug coverage comparison tool who visited the company’s website between february 1 and august 31, 2016. when reviewing their coverage options through ehealth.com, shoppers were prompted to enter their prescription drugs and dosages and review the potential savings available by plan. these savings may only be realized if the shopper enrolls in the optimal plan and takes the prescription drugs in the dosages they have described. see the methodology section below for additional details. * numbers may not add to 100% due to rounding drugs most commonly entered by anonymous tool users the ten most common drugs entered by health insurance shoppers into ehealth’s drug coverage comparison tool include the following: adderall, a drug commonly used to treat adhd and other conditions lisinopril, commonly used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure levothyroxine, commonly used to treat hypothyroidism metformin, commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes vyvanse, commonly used to treat adhd synthroid, a brand-name version of levothyroxine atorvastatin, commonly used to treat high cholesterol duloxetine, commonly used to treat depression, anxiety and other conditions lantus, commonly used to treat diabetes buproprion, commonly used to treat depression and aid smoking cessation drugs most commonly entered that did not generate savings the five most common drugs entered by health insurance shoppers into ehealth’s drug coverage comparison tool which did not yield potential savings for customers include: methodology in preparing the analysis above, ehealth reviewed more than 16,000 user sessions in which anonymous consumers utilized the drug coverage comparison function at ehealth.com between february 1 and august 31, 2016 and found potential savings. potential savings are calculated based on the full price for the drugs entered by consumers. full price is based on figures obtained through insurance carriers with whom ehealth has a relationship or through other sources. savings figures are based only on plans available through ehealth.com and may only be realized if the consumer chooses to enroll in the plan identified as offering the highest savings. in addition, although the comparison tool attempts to use the latest data available, plans may change their drug formularies or coverage rates or otherwise not provide the latest correct data in some instances. ehealth ehealth, inc. (nasdaq: ehth) owns ehealth.com, the nation's first and largest private online 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. ehealth offers thousands of individual, family and small business health plans underwritten by many of the nation's leading health insurance companies. ehealth (through its subsidiaries) is licensed to sell health insurance in all 50 states and the district of columbia. ehealth also offers educational resources and powerful online and pharmacy-based tools to help medicare beneficiaries navigate medicare health insurance options, choose the right plan and enroll in select plans online through medicare.com (www.medicare.com), ehealthmedicare.com (www.ehealthmedicare.com) and planprescriber.com (www.planprescriber.com). for more health insurance news and information, visit ehealth's consumer resource center.
