This week’s newsletter is Sponsored By: VRI
Providing 24/7 assistance so members can be safe and live independently → VRI
Here is what you’ll find in this week’s newsletter!
Important links 🔗 - the best articles we found this week about the Medicare Market along with links to Jared’s recent LinkedIn posts.
Deep Dive 📚 - eBroker Q1 2026 Results: Side-By-Side
Sponsor Snapshot 🚀 - brought to you by VRI
It’s only a 5 minute read, but it will make you 10x smarter.
Here are IMPORTANT LINKS 🔗 for the week:
FREE White Paper - The Future of Medicare Supplement 2026 - (link)
2026 Medicare Enrollment State Pages eBook - (link)
Senate Democrats move to roll back Medicare AI prior authorization pilot - (link)
Congressional committee advances bill to reform radiologist reimbursement in Medicare - (link)
Sen. King says bath mats could save Medicare millions - (link)
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Challenge - (link)
Projected 2027 IRMAA Brackets and Surcharges for Medicare Part B and D - (link)
Medicare Supplement Rate Actions - 2026 Q2 Update - (link)
Jared’s recent LinkedIn posts:
DEEP DIVE 📚
eBroker Q1 2026 Results: Side-By-Side
This week, we’re digging into Q1 2026 financials for publicly traded Direct-to-Consumer distributors — the “eBrokers.”
The three we’ll compare are:
GoHealth ( $GOCO ( ▲ 2.54% ) )
eHealth ( $EHTH ( ▲ 0.96% ) )
SelectQuote ( $SLQT ( ▲ 5.45% ) )
—
Company Commentary
Before comparing these 3 companies, it’s worth mentioning some notable commentary to help provide context for this quarter’s results.
GOCO continued pullback.
GoHealth has almost entirely exited Medicare Advantage enrollment, with Q1 2026 revenue down 95% YoY
Focus has shifted to GoHealth Protect (guaranteed acceptance life insurance) and non-agency Encompass services
EHTH intentionally reduced volume to improve unit economics.
eHealth pulled back on MA enrollments, focusing spend on more profitable marketing channels
Q1 2026 results came in ahead of management expectations; full-year guidance reiterated
SLQT did not pull back.
SelectQuote continued normal operations and is the only one of the three to post a GAAP profit this quarter
Full-year guidance of $1.61–$1.71 billion revenue and $90–$100 million Adjusted EBITDA reaffirmed
It's also worth noting that there are two other big players who don't break out segment financials:
HealthMarkets (UnitedHealth Group)
Innovative Financial Group (Humana)
—
Side-By-Side Results
To compare and contrast Q1 2026 results we are looking at the Income Statement, a few key Balance Sheet items, LTV metrics, and Sales metrics.
Key Takeaways
SLQT led in total revenue, overhead efficiency, and was the only company to post an operating profit
EHTH reported the highest Medicare Advantage LTV at $938
EHTH maintained the lowest debt load
SLQT led in sales volume with 175,557 approved MA policies
GOCO filed a going concern disclosure, active restructuring discussions with lenders underway
—
YoY % Change
Let’s observe and discuss the year-over-year (“YoY”) % changes.
Revenues
SLQT posted the only revenue increase, up 6% YoY
EHTH revenue declined 22% YoY, reflecting focus on margin over volume
GOCO revenue declined 95% YoY due to near-complete exit from MA enrollment
Expenses
EHTH cut total operating expenses 16% YoY; marketing spend down 38%
SLQT expenses up 2% YoY, driven by Healthcare segment cost of goods sold
GOCO expenses declined sharply with the pullback, but remain high relative to revenue
Profitability
SLQT posted operating income of $35.9 million
EHTH operating loss of $2.9 million
GOCO operating loss of $34.8 million on $11.9 million of revenue
Balance Sheet Changes
Commission receivable balances totaled $2.85 billion combined, flat YoY
SLQT commission receivables grew 5% YoY
GOCO long-term debt at $653 million, up 35% YoY
EHTH maintains the lowest debt load at $114 million
LTV Changes
EHTH MA LTV increased 3% YoY to $938
SLQT MA LTV declined 1% YoY to $904
GOCO reports Sales per Submission of $621; likely includes some final expense life sales
Sales
SLQT led with 175,557 approved MA policies, up 4% YoY
EHTH approved MA policies down 23% YoY
GOCO reported 18,615 Submissions, not directly comparable to approved policy counts
SLQT SelectRx members grew 11% YoY to 116,616
Reporting note: GOCO reports submissions; SLQT and EHTH report approved policies
__
Bottom Line
The three public eBrokers each told a different story in Q1 2026.
GOCO is no longer meaningfully selling Medicare Advantage. Their current story is now about survival and restructuring, not sales.
EHTH made a deliberate trade. Less volume, better margins and cash flows.
SLQT saw consistent profit, growing receivables, SelectRx scaling, and guidance reaffirmed.
With carriers continuing to tighten plan economics, reduce broker compensation, and exit markets heading into AEP 2027, the revenue-per-sale tailwind that drove this industry's growth remains pressured.
SPONSOR SNAPSHOT 🚀: VRI
VRI is transforming the way members engage in and access care through home and community-based solutions. We’re there to help members live more confidently by enabling them to access the care they need - and our solutions deliver: we measurably address cost and close gaps in care across our services.
Learn how VRI can fit into your members’ coordinated care ecosystem with solutions such as:
Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS)
Device enabled virtual care management
Medication Management
Community Health Stations
E3 - Engage, Educate, Empower to address health literacy and support gap closure
Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) → VRI
What MMI + Subscribers read this week…
2026 Medicare Enrollment State Pages eBook - (link)
Insurance Regulatory Insights May 2026 - Insurance in Motion: Med Supp Changes, CMS Updates, AI Laws, and Dental Proposals (link)
Non-Commissionable Plans - 2026 - Repository of 2026 Non-Commissionable Plans (link)
May ‘26 MA/MAPD and PDP enrollment data - April enrollment data has been loaded. Here are a few observations. (link)
Receive regulatory updates with the Insurance Regulatory Insights newsletter.
Monthly newsletters providing insight into recent insurance regulatory action
Access to Reg Tracker, a comprehensive list of insurance regulatory actions in all states for this calendar year that are included in the newsletters.
Insurance Regulatory Insights is now included in your MMI+ subscription! You can also subscribe using the link below.
How was today's newsletter?
If you’re ready, here are some ways we can help you:
Did this get forwarded to you? Get the Medicare Market Insights newsletter sent directly to your email weekly:
