HJNO Jan/Feb 2026

46 JAN / FEB 2026 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS MEDICAID COLUMN MEDICAID HEALTH LITERACY remains a critical de- terminant of health outcomes, particular- ly within the Medicaid population, where socioeconomic adversity, chronic disease burden, and structural barriers converge to reduce an individual’s ability to access, understand, and navigate care. The U.S. Department of Health and Hu- man Services (HHS) defines health litera- cy as the “ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others” (HHS, 2025). But this definition was expanded to recognize the impact organizations have in helping individuals attain health literacy, as part of Healthy People 2030. As a result, or- ganizational health literacy refers to the “degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others” (HHS, 2025). For Medicaid beneficiaries, many of whom face limited English proficiency, lower educational attainment, unstable housing, and competing life priorities, health literacy challenges can quickly translate into fragmented care, prevent- able hospitalizations, and suboptimal use of preventive services. Health Literacy as a Social and Clinical Determinant of Health Low health literacy is deeply inter- twined with social determinants of health (SDOH). Disadvantaged popu- lations, including Medicaid enrollees, disproportionately experience limit- ed financial resources, food insecurity, transportation barriers, and lower edu- cational attainment, all factors shown to reduce engagement in preventive care and complicate chronic disease manage- ment (Romanova et al., 2024). Within this context, health information often com- petes with urgent survival needs, mak- ing traditional communication models insufficient. Clinically, low health literacy is asso- ciated with higher rates of uncontrolled hypertension, poorly managed diabetes, medication errors, and avoidable emer- gency department use (Romanova et al., Unlocking Better Communication: Advancing Health Literacy for the Medicaid Population