MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Sep 27, 2007 -- eHealth, Inc. (NasdaqGM:
EHTH -
News) today
announced that its China subsidiary eHealth China (Xiamen)
Technology Co.,
Ltd. has launched a pilot program to market insurance online
in China's
Fujian province. As part of the pilot program, residents
of the city of
Xiamen in the Fujian province in China can shop for health,
life and
accident insurance at the company's website
www.ubao.com,
which features
approximately 25 insurance plans from insurance carriers
consisting of
China Life, Ping An, Taikang Life and Tianan. eHealth China
currently is
licensed to sell
health,
life and accident
insurance in the Fujian province in China.
About eHealth, Inc.
eHealth, Inc. is the parent company of eHealthInsurance,
the leading online
source of health
insurance
in the United States for individuals, families and small
businesses.
eHealthInsurance presents complex health insurance information
in an
objective, user-friendly format, enabling the research,
analysis,
comparison and purchase of health insurance products that
best meet
consumers' needs. eHealth and eHealthInsurance are registered
trademarks of
eHealthInsurance Services, Inc.
eHealth, Inc. was founded in 1997 and its technology was
responsible for
the nation's first Internet-based sale of a health insurance
policy in the
United States. eHealth is headquartered in Mountain View,
California.
Additional information can be found on eHealth's website,
www.ehealthinsurance.com.
Forward-Looking Statements and Risks
This press release may contain statements that are forward-looking
statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act
of 1995. These include statements regarding the feasibility
and demand for
eHealth's ecommerce platform for the sale of health, life
and accident
insurance in China. There can be no assurance that the company
will be
successful in marketing or selling insurance in China. The
ability of the
company to successfully market and sell insurance in China
is inherently
subject to various risks and uncertainties, including risks
associated with
various legal and regulatory matters, including the permissibility
of the
company's sale of insurance in China; varied, unfamiliar
and unclear laws,
rules and regulations; legal, political or systemic restrictions
on the
ability of United States companies or their wholly-owned
subsidiaries to
market insurance or otherwise do business in China; disadvantages
and an
inability to obtain or maintain necessary approvals as a
result of the
company's subsidiary in China being wholly foreign owned
or otherwise;
restrictions on the importation of programming to or from
the United
States; inexperience in marketing or selling insurance in
China or in
adapting its business and ecommerce platform and distribution
model to
Chinese markets and cultures and legal and regulatory regimes
or business
customs; and lack of demand for health or other insurance
as a result of
the government's role in paying for healthcare and other
expenses. In
addition the company's success in establishing an insurance
business in
China also would be dependent upon many of the factors that
influence the
success of the company's business in the United States,
including
acceptance of the Internet and the company's ecommerce platform
as a
marketplace for the purchase of insurance; success in marketing
the
company's ecommerce platform and in retaining members who
purchased
insurance after using that platform; the company's ability
to enter into
and maintain relationships with insurance carriers; the
affordability and
attractiveness of the insurance products offered; insurance
carrier
business practices; the effectiveness with which the company
establishes a
brand identity; performance, reliability and availability
of the ecommerce
platform; competition; the regulatory and healthcare reimbursement
environment; the company's ability to attract qualified
personnel and
network security.
