1. Being a Health-Literate Consumer
American Family
Chapter 3
Learning Objective: Students will analyze how to be a
health-literate consumer by examining our health care
system and how to access this system to benefit overall
health and wellness.
FCS Standards: 06-12.1.1, 1.A, 1.B, 1.C,

2. • Create a list of all of the health related products or
services you have used in the past week.
• Examples…
o Sunscreen
o Went to the dentist

3. • What were some things that influenced your
decisions about each product or services?

4. Making Consumer
Choices
• Health Consumer: anyone who purchases or uses
health products or services. Are you a health
consumer?
• Who influences these decisions?
o Media: various methods of communication information.
o Advertising: a written or spoken media message designed
to interest consumers in purchasing a product or service.
• Comparison Shopping: a method of judging the
benefits of different products by comparing several
factors such as quality, features, and cost.

5. Activity
• Find an advertisement for a health care product
(medicine, toothpaste, healthy food)
• Determine what technique they are using to try to
persuade consumers to buy their product.
• Be able to explain your reasoning to the class.

7. Types of Health Services
• Health Care System: all the medical care available
to a nation’s people, the way they receive care, and
the method of payment. Divided into two types.
o General Care
• Primary Care Physicians: medical doctors who provide
physical checkups and general care.
o Specialists: medical doctors trained to handle
particular kinds of patients or medical conditions.
• Preventative Care: involves actions that prevent the
onset of disease or injury.

8. Facilities for
Health Care Services
• Health Care facilities provide either inpatient or
outpatient care.
1. Private Practice
2. Clinics
3. Group Practices
4. Hospitals
5. Emergency Rooms
6. Urgent Care Centers

9. Some Trends
in Health Care
1. Birthing Centers
2. Drug Treatment Centers
3. Continuing Care and Assisted Living Facilities
4. Hospices
5. Telemedicine
Can you think of any other trends?

10. Paying for Health Care
• Health Insurance: a plan in which private companies
or government programs pay for part or all of a
person’s medical costs.
▫ To be on this plan you have to pay a premium: a
regular fee paid to the insurance company.
▫ Out-of-pocket expense: is an expense the patient
must pay for.
 The patient is then reimbursed by the insurance company
for a fixed portion of the expense, usually 80%.
▫ Deductible is the amount a member must pay in
out-of-pocket expenses before the plan will
reimburse for the health care services.

11. How Health
Insurance Works
• Let’s evaluate some health insurance plans and do
some comparison shopping.
• With a partner, you will be assigned a case study.
1. Read about the person/family
2. Compare the two different insurance plans
they are considering
3. Make a choice for the person/family
4. Present your decision to the class

12. What is ObamaCare?
• Also known as The Affordable Health Care Act
• What ObamaCare means?
o What are some of the pro’s and con’s to Americans of this new act?
• HealthCare.gov—The Health Insurance
Marketplace

13. Government Healthcare Assistance Programs
• Medicaid
o To qualify you must meet income guidelines and pregnant, a child, or
have a disability
• Medicare
o For people over 65 and some people with disabilities

14. • Medical history: complete and comprehensive
information about your immunizations and any
health problems you have had to date.
You are part of Your health care.
• Be an active part in the decision making
• Before you go to the doctor, write down
questions or concerns
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions
• Tell your doctor what medicines you are taking
or allergies you have.

15. Problems with Health
Care
• Health fraud: the sale of worthless products or
services that claim to prevent diseases or cure other
health problems.
o Products commonly associated with health
fraud: weight-loss, beauty and anti-aging
• Malpractice: failure by a health professional to
meet accepted standards.
• Who can help?-BBB, consumer advocates, local,
state, and federal government agencies

16. Public Health Services
• Public Health: a community-wide effort to monitor
and promote the welfare of the population.
• Public Health Agencies occur at the local, state,
national, and global level. Some examples are…
o National Cancer Institute
o Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA)
o Department of Health and Human Services
o Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC)
• Epidemiology: scientific study of patterns of disease in a
population.

17. Public Health Agencies
• With a partner, you will be assigned to
investigate and present information on a
public health agency.
• Tell us…
o Name of agency--acronyms?
o The purpose of the agency
o Three health related facts you found on their website that
pertains to teens and/or families

18. 3-2-1 Reflection
• On a separate piece of paper…
o Write down 3 things you have learned in this
chapter.
o Write down 2 questions you have about what we
learned.
o Write down 1 main idea of this lesson.