Health IQ Releases “Health Literacy in the 50 States” Report via Business Wire

Health IQ Releases “Health Literacy in the 50 States” Report

Business Wire: 1.31.2019

Health IQ, the nation’s fastest growing life insurance company, today released a report entitled, “Health Literacy in the 50 States.” The report uses Health IQ’s research and data compiled from more than 10 million “Health IQ” quizzes to highlight the connection between health literacy, chronic diseases and health care costs.

“In the last three centuries we dramatically improved reading literacy in the U.S. and around the world and transformed society. In this century, improving health literacy can have the same effect. The first step is to assess where we are as a country. Our calibrated Health IQ test is the first large-scale attempt to do this,” said Munjal Shah, CEO of Health IQ.

The report found that the average health literacy score for any state is 143.4 out of 200. At Health IQ, we define the health literacy threshold as a score of 184. Only 17 percent of quiz takers reached that score, which means health literacy today is where global reading literacy was in the 1850s.

“Our report shows that even small improvements can make a difference in health outcomes. States with 10 to 20 percent higher health literacy scores had 4 to 14 percent lower rates of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. Our report also showed a strong correlation between health literacy and health care costs, which are a serious challenge for individuals, families and society as a whole. We hope this report provides consumers, providers and policymakers valuable insights as they strive to improve the health of individuals and communities,” Shah added.

Key findings:

Five Highest Health IQ States:

Vermont, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Minnesota

Five Lowest Health IQ States:

Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, West Virginia, South Carolina

Health IQ and Diabetes: The report shows a relationship between high Health IQ and lower rates of diabetes, a disease that is on track to cost more than $622 billion a year by 2030 if nothing is done.

Health IQ and Obesity: The report shows a relationship between high Health IQ and lower rates of obesity, a condition estimated to cost more than $342.2 billion annually.

Health IQ and High Blood Pressure: The report shows a relationship between high Health IQ and lower rates of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease.

Health IQ and Income: The report shows that while average zip code income and median Health IQ scores tend to be related, there are notable exceptions:

Health IQ launched its Health Literacy Quiz and daily health quiz app in 2014.

Health IQ is an insurance company.  READ MORE >>

Literacy Reports & Statistics

Health

Quick Guide to Health Literacy and Older Adults, US Dept of Health & Human Services

2019: Health Literacy in the 50 States, Health IQ (an Insurance Co.)

2018: How Health Literacy Got Started, Helen Osborne

2017: Hidden Cost of Healthcare System Complexity, Accenture

2015: Health Literacy & Patient Engagement, 12th Annual Report, US HHS Sep 2015

2011: Health Literacy Interventions Outcomes: Updated Systematic Rvw, AHRQ

2010: Health Literacy, NNLM

2010: Health Literacy: Accurate Accessible Actionable Health Info. for All, CDC

2009: Reaching America’s Health Potential Among Adults, RWJ Foundation

2009: Low Health Literacy, NAAL 2003

2004: Literacy and Health in America, ETS