News
May 2008
HRA Wins Top Honor in Health Literacy
The Institute for Healthcare Advancement's outstanding achievement award is the leading honor for research, publications, and programs that address health literacy barriers. This year the publications award was given to HRA for our groundbreaking guidebook for seniors and people with disabilities who have Medi-Cal. The project was funded by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Medi-Cal Managed Care Division, a co-recipient of the award.
DHCS manages California's Medi-Cal (Medicaid) services. The guidebook, What Are My Medi-Cal Choices?, is designed to help beneficiaries choose the kind of Medi-Cal that best meets their needs. HRA worked with a statewide advisory group and conducted extensive research with consumers and professionals to develop the guidebook's content and test its usability and effectiveness. It has received very positive feedback from Medi-Cal beneficiaries, consumer advocates, and health care professionals.
The Institute for Healthcare Advancement is a national leader in health literacy. It reviewed more than 80 submissions from some of the nation's foremost health literacy authorities and researchers to select winners in the three categories.
More than a third of Americans—87 million—have basic or below basic health literacy skills. This means that they have difficulty reading, understanding, and acting on much of the health information they receive, such as medicine labels, instructions for preparing for medical tests and procedures, and health insurance forms.