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 Q2 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:
Medicare Advantage Beneficiary Enrollment Decisions Following New Complex Conditions - (link)
New Survey: Americans are Confident They Understand Medicare but the Data Suggests Otherwise - (link)
JD Power: Member satisfaction with Medicare Advantage plans continues to slide - (link)
Medicare’s Paying Less for Cataract Surgery. Eye Doctors Are Turning to Lucrative Lasers. - (link)
Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1 Trillion and 114,000 Lives Every Year, Yale Study Projects - (link)
Providence Health Plan to shut down after Medicare Advantage deal falls through - (link)
Medicare's pilot GLP-1 discount program has a catch. Some sick patients don't qualify - (link)
Jared’s recent LinkedIn posts:
DEEP DIVE 📚
eBroker Q2 2026 Results: Side-By-Side
This week, we're digging into Q2 2026 financials for publicly traded Direct-to-Consumer distributors, the "eBrokers."
The two we're comparing this quarter are:
→ eHealth ( $EHTH ( ▼ 0.83% ) )
→ SelectQuote ( $SLQT ( ▲ 0.31% ) )
GoHealth is not part of this quarter's comparison — the company was delisted from Nasdaq in June following a prepackaged Chapter 11 restructuring. More on that below.
Reporting note: SLQT's fiscal year ends June 30, so "Q2 2026" for SLQT reflects its fiscal Q4 2026 (three months ended June 30, 2026), the same calendar period as EHTH's Q2 2026.
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Company Commentary
Before comparing these 2 companies, it's worth mentioning some notable commentary to help provide context for this quarter's results.
**EHTH kept pulling back on volume, improving cash flow.**
eHealth continued reducing variable marketing spend outside of AEP, focusing benefit advisors on existing member engagement instead
Launched a "lifetime advisory model" in the quarter; ancillary product cross-sell rates doubled YoY
Operating cash flow improved by $36.2 million YoY, to $(5.0) million, on a cost-reduction program targeting more than $60 million in annual variable spend savings and ~$30 million in fixed cost savings
Full-year 2026 guidance reiterated: $405–$445 million revenue, $55–$75 million Adjusted EBITDA
**SLQT closed out fiscal 2026 with its strongest cash flow profile in years.**
SelectQuote's Senior segment posted a 26% Adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter, the 4th straight year above management's 20%+ target
Healthcare Services (SelectRx) exited fiscal 2026 at nearly $50 million run-rate Adjusted EBITDA
Full fiscal year 2026 net income of $62.2 million, up from $47.6 million in fiscal 2025; operating cash flow improved $44 million YoY
Fiscal 2027 guidance: $1.35–$1.45 billion revenue, $90–$115 million Adjusted EBITDA, and operating cash flow expected to roughly double to more than $60 million
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 Q2 2026 results we are looking at the Income Statement, a few key Balance Sheet items, LTV metrics, and Sales metrics.
Key Takeaways:
SLQT led total revenue by a wide margin ($321.7M vs. $33.6M)
EHTH reported the highest Medicare Advantage LTV at $921, ahead of SLQT's $883
EHTH still carries the lower debt load in dollar terms ($114.6M vs. $370.2M), but also carries a large Convertible preferred stock balance of $406M
SLQT led sales volume with 72,180 approved MA policies
SLQT's SelectRx pharmacy business kept scaling, crossing 109,000 members
—
YoY % Change
Let's observe and discuss the year-over-year ("YoY") % changes.
Note: because GOCO is out of the comparison this quarter, we've restated last year's "All" figures to EHTH + SLQT only, so the combined-company trend lines are apples-to-apples.
Revenues:
SLQT posted the smaller revenue decline, down 7% YoY, driven by an 11% drop in pharmacy revenue and flat commission revenue
EHTH revenue declined 45% YoY, in line with the company's own stated strategy of trading volume for margin and cash flow
Combined revenue across the two companies fell 12% YoY (restated basis)
Expenses:
EHTH cut total operating expenses 27% YoY, with marketing spend down 45%
SLQT expenses down 11% YoY, tracking the revenue decline
Combined operating expenses down 14% YoY (restated basis)
Profitability:
SLQT swung from an operating loss of $12.5 million in Q2 2025 to operating income of $3.4 million this quarter
EHTH's operating loss widened from $23.0 million to $27.5 million YoY, even as cash flow improved
Combined operating loss across the two narrowed from $35.6 million to $24.0 million YoY (restated basis)
—
Balance Sheet:
Combined commission receivable across EHTH and SLQT totaled $2.0 billion, up 7% YoY
EHTH's debt load grew 66% YoY to $114.6 million; SLQT's declined 4% YoY to $370.2 million
LTV Changes:
EHTH MA LTV declined 1% YoY to $921; MS LTV and PDP LTV both grew YoY (up 16% and 52%, respectively)
SLQT MA LTV grew 5% YoY to $883
SLQT does not report MS or PDP LTV separately
Sales:
SLQT led with 72,180 approved MA policies, down 15% YoY
EHTH approved MA members down 45% YoY, consistent with its deliberate volume pullback
SLQT SelectRx members grew 1% YoY to 109,039
Reporting note: SLQT's fiscal year ends June 30, so "Q2 2026" for SLQT reflects its fiscal Q4 2026 (three months ended June 30, 2026), the same calendar period as EHTH's Q2 2026.
—
GoHealth: From Public Company to Private, Lender-Owned Business
GOCO isn't part of this quarter's side-by-side because it's no longer a public company.
Here's the timeline:
The net effect: GoHealth is no longer a publicly traded, shareholder-owned distributor. It's now a privately held business owned outright by the lenders who financed it.
—
Bottom Line
With one fewer public eBroker to compare, the two that remain reported the same pattern this quarter: less volume, tighter expenses, and meaningfully better cash flow.
EHTH improved operating cash flow by $36.2 million YoY, to $(5.0) million, on a 45% pullback in approved MA members and a 27% cut in operating expenses.
SLQT used just $3.3 million in operating cash this quarter, down from $37.5 million a year ago, even as approved MA policies fell 15%. For the full fiscal year, SLQT generated $31.9 million in operating cash flow, compared to $11.7 million used in fiscal 2025 — a $44 million improvement.
With carriers continuing to tighten plan economics, reduce broker compensation, and exit markets heading into AEP 2027, both public and private eBrokers will once again have both opportunities as well as challenges to navigate.
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