PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Weiss, Barry D.
AU  - Palmer, Raymond
TI  - Relationship Between Health Care Costs and Very Low Literacy Skills in a Medically Needy and Indigent Medicaid Population
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.17.1.44
DP  - 2004 Jan 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice
PG  - 44--47
VI  - 17
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/17/1/44.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/17/1/44.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2004 Jan 01; 17
AB  - Objectives: Previous research established that low literacy is independently associated with poorer health. Our objective was to determine whether low literacy skill also is associated with higher health care charges.Methods: We studied persons enrolled in Medicaid because of medical need/indigence by testing literacy skills in English or Spanish and measuring annual health care charges. Statistical analyses determined if, after adjusting for sociodemographic variables, literacy was associated with charges.Results: Mean charges among subjects with very low literacy skills (≤3rd-grade reading level) were $10,688/year, but only $2,891 for those with better literacy skills (≥4th-grade reading level), statistically significant difference (P = .025). This difference persisted after adjustment for potentially confounding sociodemographic variables.Conclusions: Based on this small study, very limited reading skills seem to be independently associated with higher health care charges among medically needy and medically indigent Medicaid patients.