BETHESDA, Md. -- Sixty-six percent of all Medicaid agencies call for at least a sixth-grade reading level for written health material, making this standard the most popular among states, according to a new survey by Health Literacy Innovations, a company that creates tools to enhance health literacy.
The survey, "A National Survey of Medicaid Guidelines for Health Literacy," represents a snapshot of the state’s health literacy standards for Medicaid recipients. Among other trends, the survey reveals:
* The majority – 90 percent – of all states have specific readability guidelines for their Medicaid materials.
* 56 percent call for a sixth-grade reading level.
* 66 percent call for a sixth-grade reading level or a range that includes sixth grade.
* 14 percent call for a fourth-grade reading level.
* 6 percent call for a reading level between fourth and sixth grade.
* 2 percent call for a third-grade reading level.
"This growing trend toward lower readability levels in the Medicaid program is important news for states nationwide and for the healthcare community in general," says Aracely Rosales, chief content expert and multi-lingual director, a nationally recognized health literacy expert and Health Literacy Innovations partner. "It not only reveals that states are requesting clear language for their Medicaid members, and at a level that takes real work, but shows a positive trend toward closing the gap between what consumers can understand and can read, and the information the healthcare industry produces, which today is about a tenth-grade reading level," says Rosales.
Source: Health Literacy Innovations
