A Short Medicare Proficiency Questionnaire (MPQ): Reliability and Validity.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Survey Methodology
• Health Literacy

Background:

• Assessing Medicare beneficiary knowledge is crucial for program effectiveness and informed decision-making.
• Existing tools may not adequately cover all Medicare topics, including recent expansions like Medicare Part D.
• A reliable and valid instrument is needed to evaluate understanding of Medicare benefits and policies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new 15-item Medicare Proficiency Questionnaire (MPQ).
• To assess the reliability and validity of the MPQ in a diverse population including Medicare enrollees and non-enrollees.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional online survey was administered in February 2024 to participants recruited via Prolific.
• The survey included the newly developed 15-item MPQ, adapted from the 2003 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and updated with Medicare Part D questions.
• Demographic information was collected to analyze relationships with MPQ scores.

Main Results:

• The MPQ demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .73) across all participants.
• The questionnaire showed adequate validity, evidenced by positive associations between MPQ scores and higher education levels.
• Medicare enrollees scored significantly higher on the MPQ compared to non-enrollees, supporting its validity.

Conclusions:

• The 15-item Medicare Proficiency Questionnaire (MPQ) is a reliable and valid tool for assessing Medicare knowledge.
• The MPQ can be effectively used across diverse populations, including those enrolled and not enrolled in Medicare.
• Findings suggest the MPQ can aid in understanding health literacy related to Medicare.