鈥婨ffectively communicating information about the Affordable Care Act can be done using plain language, providing comparisons in familiar contexts and using stories, according to new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
The study is one of the first to examine effective ways to explain key insurance terms and details to people who never have had health insurance. It was published online April 3 in the journal Medical Decision Making.
The study鈥檚 343 participants, from urban, suburban and rural areas, did not have health insurance previously or only recently had enrolled. They were shown plain-language tables, graphics and stories about how other people make insurance decisions.
鈥淧eople found all three methods very helpful,鈥� said senior author聽Dr. Timothy McBride, professor at the Brown School. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e helpful for people across all levels of health literacy.鈥�
鈥淢uch of the insurance information that people receive is confusing, whether they鈥檙e enrolling in a plan under the Affordable Care Act or through an employer,鈥� said Dr. Mary Politi, the lead author, an assistant professor of surgery at the School of Medicine. 鈥淎nything we can do to ease the enrollment process benefits patients and their families 鈥� and simple solutions exist.鈥�
Saint Louis University also participated in the research.
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