As CEO of eHealth an online insurance broker that recently received government authorization to enroll people in subsidized health plans in the 36 states with federally operated exchanges next year, Gary Lauer will in effect be in charge of helping many Americans buy health insurance for the first time starting Oct. 1.
The announcement sent eHealth’s stock price soaring more than 30%, but for Lauer, the unveiling of the Affordable Care Act’s new insurance exchange marketplaces also marks a more personal victory: Under the law, which prohibits insurers from rejecting people for pre-existing conditions, he can finally purchase individual health insurance on his own if he needs it, after a bout with cancer a few years ago made him ineligible. “I’m CEO of the largest health insurance source in the country, and even I couldn’t get a health insurance product on it to insure myself,” says Lauer, adding that he is currently insured through the company’s employee health plan.
With 25 million to 30 million more people expected to purchase coverage under the new ACA rules, Lauer is preparing for the individual health insurance market—eHealth’s market—to double or triple in size. Since eHealth sold the first health plan online in 1998, it has enrolled more than 3 million people, 40% of whom were previously uninsured. At least four other online insurance brokers also signed agreements with the government to sell subsidized health plans, but eHealth is by far the largest — in terms of sales volume, product selection and market cap.
Date: Aug. 21, 2013