Educating Older Adults about Medicare: The Role of Cognitive Variables

A survey was conducted on 3,738 beneficiaries about their knowledge of the Medicare program as well as their reading habits, reading comprehension ability, and metamemory. Factor analysis yielded a reading and a metamemory factor. These factors explained variance in knowledge about Medicare above and beyond the variance explained by formal education. Individuals with good knowledge of memory processes, and those who reported high memory capacity and internal locus of control regarding their memory functioning, as well as frequent readers were more knowledgeable about Medicare. We suggest that cognitive variables be included in studies evaluating the effectiveness of educational materials for older adults.