Web Health Broker Gives Peek at Per-Enrollee Commissions

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One of the pioneers in efforts to sell health insurance through the web, eHealth Inc., has given investors a peek at the commissions it receives for the products it sells.

One obvious conclusion: eHealth now makes a lot more from selling Medicare plans than from selling major medical coverage.

(Related: Trump’s ACA World)

The Mountain View, California-based company posted estimates of the “constrained lifetime value” of the commissions it expects to receive, per enrollee, for a number of products:

• Medicare supplement insurance: of $1,029.
• Medicare Advantage: $880.
• Individual major medical (Affordable Care Act public exchange): $134,
• Individual major medical (off-exchange): $140.
• Dental: $74.
• Short-term health insurance: $60.
• Vision: $51.

Dave Francis, the company’s chief operating officer, said Thursday, during a conference call with securities analysts, that getting insurers to pay commissions on sales of ACA exchange plans is difficult.

“We are working with the carriers with whom we work in the non-ACA space to get us as strong a commission trend as possible,” Francis said.

The company expects commission levels on short-term health insurance products to rise later in the year, if the Trump administration goes ahead with plans to lift the current 90-day cap on the duration of short-term health insurance, executives said.

The company is getting ready to focus more on selling short-term health insurance, executives said.

EHealth held the conference call to go over first-quarter earnings with securities analysts.