Objectives: To better understand patients' levels of health literacy regarding what constitutes no-cost preventive visits versus possibly costly office visits and their ease of obtaining information about coverage and costs from providers and health insurance companies.
Study design: A cross-sectional online survey of 866 participants aged 18 to 82 years from 49 states.
Methods: Participants' knowledge of preventive versus office visits was assessed through a series of true/false questions. Participants rated their ease of obtaining information from health insurance providers and doctors about costs and coverage. They also described phone calls with their health insurance companies via an open-ended question. Logistic regression was used to predict how the ease of obtaining information is related to being erroneously charged for a medical visit.
Results: About two-thirds of participants were unable to answer all knowledge questions correctly regarding the differences between preventive and office visits. Participants reporting a greater ease of obtaining information from health insurance providers were less likely to indicate being erroneously charged for medical visits. About 15% rated their calls with insurance companies as negative.
Conclusions: Many Americans have limited health literacy regarding what constitutes a preventive care visit. Support must continue to educate the population about preventive care visits and improve the ease of obtaining information from health insurance companies about preventive coverage.