A survey commissioned by eHealth, Inc. found most consumers lack a basic understanding common health insurance terms and particulars of their own health insurance coverage.

Only half were certain how much they paid for their monthly health insurance premiums and 45 percent knew their annual deductibles.

Thirty-six percent said they knew that HMO stood for health maintenance organization -- a type of managed care that follows a set of care guidelines provided through the HMO's network of providers -- while 20 percent knew PPO refers to preferred provider organization which allows a patient to see any doctor or specialist without referral often within a network. Eleven percent said they knew a HSA is a health savings account, a tax-advantaged medical savings account available to taxpayers.

The telephone survey of 1,010 U.S. adults conducted by Opinion Research Corporation found women tend to be the healthcare decision makers for their families.

The survey has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.