The statistics linking poor health status with health care literacy are staggering, especially among African American and Hispanic populations. That's why Aetna teamed up with Magic Johnson Enterprises to help improve health care literacy in urban areas across the country.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson, basketball legend and proven entrepreneur, is a strong supporter of staying healthy and maintaining overall wellness. As a result, he believes that health literacy is the most important ingredient in sustaining good health.

"It's literacy," says Johnson. "That's how well you read, write and process information. More than 90 million Americans struggle to understand what their doctors tell them. This means they are less likely to follow their doctors' orders and less likely to get regular check-ups. And they are more likely to be hospitalized."

Understanding that healthy families create healthy communities, Aetna and Magic Johnson Enterprises collaborated to create tools and information, and sponsored community events designed to help people engage in dialogue on healthful lifestyles. One of these tools is an easy-to-navigate website, communityvitality.com. This website looks like a city neighborhood, and offers tips on cooking and eating more healthful foods and maintaining wellness.

Through this relationship, we are able to extend our reach into ethnically diverse communities, empowering them with information and tools to help them make informed choices about their health care options.