The Connection Between Health Insurance and Health Literacy

Health literacy is the ability to understand and use health information to make informed decisions about your health. Health insurance literacy is the ability to understand and use health insurance information to make informed decisions about your health coverage.

There is a strong connection between health literacy and health insurance literacy. People with low health literacy are more likely to have low health insurance literacy. This is because health insurance can be complex and difficult to understand, even for people with good health literacy.

Low health insurance literacy can lead to a number of problems, including:

• Difficulty understanding health insurance terms and concepts
• Difficulty choosing the right health insurance plan
• Difficulty using health insurance benefits
• Delaying or forgoing needed medical care due to cost

People with low health insurance literacy are also more likely to be uninsured. This is because they may not be aware of their options for health insurance or they may not be able to afford it.

There are a number of things that can be done to improve health insurance literacy, including:

• Making health insurance information more accessible and understandable
• Providing educational materials about health insurance
• Training health care providers on how to communicate with patients about health insurance

By improving health insurance literacy, we can help people make informed decisions about their health coverage and get the care they need.

Here are some specific examples of how health literacy and health insurance literacy are connected:

• A person with low health literacy may not understand the difference between a health insurance plan with a high deductible and a plan with a low deductible. This could lead them to choose a plan that is not the best fit for their needs.
• A person with low health insurance literacy may not understand the terms “copayment” and “coinsurance.” This could lead them to be surprised by the amount of money they owe when they receive medical care.
• A person with low health insurance literacy may not know how to file a claim with their health insurance company. This could delay or prevent them from getting the care they need.

By improving health literacy and health insurance literacy, we can help people make informed decisions about their health coverage and get the care they need