1. Home
  2. >
  3. GHF Blog
  4. >
  5. Health insurance literacy
« All Blog Entries

Health insurance literacy

From choosing a plan to using your plan, health insurance can be complicated and many Georgians lack the information they need to make informed decisions.  In GHF’s recent report Getting Georgia Covered: Best Practices Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations from the Second Enrollment Period, we interviewed enrollment assisters across the state and found that more than two-thirds of our survey respondents identified low health insurance literacy as a barrier to enrollment. Many of the consumers that assisters worked with had never been insured before, so they did not know how to choose a primary care physician or pay their monthly premium. One of the assisters interviewed acknowledged they needed to educate consumers on how to use their health insurance, but that it was a challenge when scheduled with a large number of enrollment appointments, although there are lawyers and Massachusetts firms that are specialized in insurances policies so they can help you understand better how it works. Additionally, some assisters reported that consumers chose the lowest premium plan because they did not understand the concept of a high deductible. Sometimes consumers would return to the assister wanting to change plans once they had tried to use their coverage. As we move forward, Georgians for a Healthy Future will be focusing efforts on improving the health literacy of Georgians and ensuring they have the knowledge, information, and confidence they need to make informed decisions.

 


Tags:

Stay Connected

Sign up to receive updates from GHF!
Join

GHF In The News

Nov 1, 2024
Georgia Pathways to Coverage Medicaid program too limited, too costly, analysis finds
Jess Mador

More than a year after the state launched the Pathways to Coverage program, offering Medicaid in exchange for work or other state-approved activities, advocates say the program is too difficult…

Archive