Wellness Weekly: Improving your health literacy

As annual benefits enrollment approaches, now is the time to check in on your health literacy.

Health literacy refers to our ability to receive, understand and communicate basic health information and services. These are all key ingredients to finding the right health care services, interacting with primary care providers, and following their treatment recommendations.

People with low levels of health literacy are less likely to receive preventive care and more likely to wind up in the emergency room or hospital. Our personal health literacy may vary, depending on our age, education, cultural background and overall communication skills.

Benefits of improving your health literacy include increased ability to estimate healthcare premiums, better understanding of your health measures, and an improved ability to manage your own health.

Review this flyer from UMR to learn more about health literacy and how to improve yours. You can also view definitions of health care-related terms and learn more about how insurance cost-sharing works in the 2025 Annual Benefits Enrollment Guide on pages 33 and 34.

Related Articles