Health insurance literacy among patients receiving outpatient cancer treatment.

Autor: Zhao J; Surveillance and Health Equity Science Department, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia, USA., Zhang N; Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona, USA., Hilal T; Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA., Griffin JM; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA., Yabroff KR; Surveillance and Health Equity Science Department, American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia, USA., Khera N; Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Cancer [Cancer] 2024 Oct 15; Vol. 130 (20), pp. 3480-3486. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 17.
DOI: 10.1002/cncr.35439
Abstrakt: Background: This study examines patients' understanding of health insurance terms and concepts and quantifies health insurance literacy (HIL) levels by key sociodemographic factors.
Methods: This study included 393 adult patients with cancer (>18 years old) receiving treatment in two ambulatory infusion centers: Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona and the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Respondents' perceptions of their HIL were assessed using the Health Insurance Literacy Measure (HILM), a validated 21-item measure of a consumer's ability to select and use health insurance (HIL self-efficacy). Respondents' knowledge of health insurance concepts (HIL knowledge) was measured using 10 items created by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The number of correct answers was categorized into three levels: 0-4 (low knowledge), 5-6 (moderate knowledge), and 7-10 (high knowledge). Multivariable logistic regressions were used to compare correct answers to HIL knowledge questions by HIL self-efficacy.
Results: Nearly three-quarters of patients had high HIL self-efficacy and high HIL knowledge (70.5%), understanding basic insurance terms, such as premiums and deductibles. Relatively low percentages of patients correctly answered questions about the meaning of provider networks, health insurance formularies, and calculating out-of-pocket spending in scenarios when insurers pay a portion of allowed charges. Lower HIL knowledge was more common among patients with less educational attainment (Conclusions: Efforts to improve HIL and navigation of health insurance plan features are required, especially for socioeconomically vulnerable patients.
(© 2024 American Cancer Society.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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