Few Americans Able to Manage Medical Insurance LiteracyMay 2008
Everyone knows that
health insurance is complicated and confusing - there's the trick of balancing deductibles against monthly premiums, judging appropriate out-of-pocket costs, and generally just figuring out what's covered and what isn't.
But now it seems that managing medical insurance in America has become so complex, that only 12% of Americans are proficient with health literacy.
Health literacy is judged as a person's ability to obtain and use health insurance and health care information to make decisions that will be the best for them. This could include understanding the risks and benefits of treatments, calculating
medical insurance costs, and being able to fill out those endless hospital forms.
The report from the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research is clear - only 12% of Americans can figure out their own health insurance and health care.
Another 53% had intermediate health literacy skills, and 22% had basic skills such as being able to read pamphlets and understand why a test may or may not be useful.
Facts on:
Medical Insurance Literacy
Did you know...
Only 12% of Americans are proficient in health insurance literacy?
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And 14% of Americans have below-basic skills when it comes to managing their health, and their medical insurance. With more than 302 million people in this country, that adds up to 4.2 million people who need help understanding their health care.
The numbers are scary, but what's scarier still is the idea that so many people are struggling to deal with a health insurance system that may or may not save their lives, depending on information that they themselves may or may not be able to understand.
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