At the Center for Health Care Strategies, we strive to reflect the core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our work and in our workplace.
W hile the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not focus explicitly on health literacy, the law’s success arguably calls for a redoubling of national efforts to address the issue. Nearly 36 percent of America’s adult population is considered functionally illiterate, with rates of low literacy found disproportionately among lower-income Americans eligible for publicly financed care through Medicaid.
In this report, commissioned by the Institute of Medicine, the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) identifies provisions in the ACA that directly and/or indirectly address health literacy. Findings herein can inform efforts to implement related enrollment, care delivery, and public health strategies that support and respond to health literacy levels in the expansion population.