eHealth Survey: For US Seniors, COVID Is a Big Influence on Social Behavior and Voting

~ 60% say COVID will be a top-three factor in November's election

Majority would favor return to strict COVID protocols this fall 

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) (eHealth.com), a leading online private health insurance marketplace, today released results from a survey of more than 2,500 Medicare beneficiaries showing that COVID-19 continues to have a large influence on their lives.

"While younger people may be moving on, COVID remains a serious concern for Medicare beneficiaries," says eHealth CEO Fran Soistman. "As COVID case and hospitalization rates fluctuate, our survey offers an important benchmark on the sentiments of a large and vulnerable segment of the population."

Key insights from eHealth's report:

• COVID will be a big factor in seniors' midterm election votes: 62% say the government's handling of COVID is a top-three voting issue for them.
  
  
• Seniors are scrutinizing government's pandemic response: 21% say their confidence in the government's response to COVID has increased in the past year; 48% say it is unchanged; 31% say it has decreased.
  
  
• Many support a return to strict measures for reducing the spread of COVID: 62% support reimposing social distancing and masking rules if case counts increase; 47% would get boosters 1-2 times each year if recommended.
  
  
• COVID is still disruptive: Only 8% say their lives are back to normal, though 39% say they are less worried than a year ago.
  
  
• Behavioral changes may prove permanent: 73% are less likely to go on a cruise, and 52% are less likely to travel by plane, a sharp increase from May of 2021, when eHealth found 58% less likely to go on a cruise and 31% less likely to fly.

Read the full report.

eHealth's report is based on a voluntary survey of Medicare beneficiaries who purchased Medicare health insurance plans through eHealth. The survey was conducted in late July of 2022 and a total of 2,519 responses were collected.

eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) operates a leading health insurance marketplace at eHealth.com and eHealthMedicare.com with technology that provides consumers with health insurance enrollment solutions. Since 1997, we have connected more than eight million members with quality, affordable health insurance, Medicare options, and ancillary plans. Our proprietary marketplace offers Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, Medicare Part D prescription drug, individual, family, small business, and other plans from approximately 200 health insurance carriers across fifty states and the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE eHealth, Inc.