According to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, only 22% of Americans have basic health literacy, or the skills to perform simple and everyday literacy activities, and 14% have below-basic health literacy. Just over half of American adults--53%--have the ability to understand moderately challenging health information and use it to make health decisions. An additional 12% of adults have proficient health literacy, which allows them to comprehend abstract prose and make complex inferences. Individuals who receive health insurance through an employer or privately purchase coverage had higher average health literacy than the uninsured or those receiving Medicare or Medicaid. Twenty-seven percent of Medicare beneficiaries had below-basic health literacy, as did 30% of Medicaid recipients. People with below-basic and basic literacy levels tend to receive information about health issues from radio and television, while those with higher literacy skills use written sources and the Internet as a source for health information.
