http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22682719

Acad Pediatr. 2012 Jun 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Reading Level of Medicaid Renewal Applications.

Pati S, Kavanagh JE, Bhatt SK, Wong AT, Noonan K, Cnaan A.

Source

Division of Primary Care Pediatrics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY; Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Penn.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To examine compliance of Medicaid-renewal applications to established state guidelines for reading level of Medicaid-related materials.

METHODS:

We assessed the reading level of the 2008 Medicaid renewal applications by using 3 readability tests: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index, New Fog Count, and FORCAST.

RESULTS:

In 2008, 45 states and the District of Columbia had reading level guidelines for Medicaid-related materials. Of these, 24 (52.2%) states' Medicaid renewal applications failed to meet their guidelines on all 3 readability tests; in particular, 41 states (89.1%) failed the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index. Only one state's application had a Flesch-Kincaid score below a 5th-grade reading level.

CONCLUSIONS:

As health care reform unfolds, complying with established reading level guidelines for Medicaid-related materials is one simplification strategy that should be implemented to improve access for Medicaid-eligible families and prevent eligible children from losing coverage unnecessarily.