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301715
Smart Choice Health Insurance: Results of a multi-state health insurance literacy program
Monday, November 17, 2014
Bonnie Braun, PhD
,
Department of Family Science, School of Public Health, University of Maryland Extension, College Park, MD
Amanda Ginter, PhD
,
Family and Consumer Sciences, Universeity of Maryland Extension, College Park, MD
Mia Russell, MA
,
Universeity of Maryland Extension, Ellicott City, MD
Lynn Little, MA
,
Universeity of Maryland Extension, Boonsboro, MD
Teresa McCoy
,
Universeity of Maryland Extension, College Park, MD
Maria Pippidis
,
University of Delaware, newark, DE
The Affordable Care Act became law in March 2010, expanding access to affordable health insurance to most Americans. However, research shows most people cannot calculate their share of health insurance costs using a descriptive table, which contributes to the mismanagement of disease and high health care costs. University of Maryland Extension brought together an interdisciplinary, interstate team of health and finance educators to develop and pilot a health insurance literacy program called Smart Choice Health Insurance©. Participants were recruited via community locations, current Extension clientele, local partners and through media outreach for the two-hour workshop. Analysis was run on electronic data received from 443 participants in five pilot states’ workshops occurring between September-December 2013. Results indicate that consumers who participated in the workshops experienced both a) a decrease in confusion and b) an increase in capability when making a health insurance decision. Discussion and results will center on the overall confidence change, differences by health insurance status at time of the program, and ways the team is working to ensure more people have access to Smart Choice Health Insurance© education.
Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related education
Learning Objectives:
Explain the guiding hypothesis of the Smart Choice Health Insurance© program.
Demonstrate how the program was effective in increasing confidence and reducing confusion in a health insurance purchasing decision.
Discuss ways the program can be expanded into new communities and audiences for the 2014 open enrollment.
Keyword(s): Health Literacy, Curricula
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a member of the team that developed and tested the program to be discussed.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
