Health Insurance Literacy of Older Adults

Abstract

We developed an instrument to measure dimensions of health insurance literacy reflecting familiarity with health insurance terminology and proficiency with the Medicare program. The instrument's items were based on a conceptual framework integrating the financial and health insurance literacy fields and were fielded in a national survey of older adults. We found that overall levels of health insurance literacy were low to moderate. The oldest adults, those with lower education and income, and those with poorer health had lower levels of health insurance literacy. The items demonstrated good psychometric properties and construct validity. They are a promising way to measure selected aspects of health insurance literacy.