Farm Healthcare Reform Options

Imagine paying out of your pocket more money for an insurance premium that you actually receive in wages. That’s a reality at farms all across Wisconsin. In a recent survey done by the Farm Bureau, over 14 percent of Wisconsin farm families carry no health insurance while 17 percent of farmers only carry catastrophic insurance – meaning deductibles that can top out at $5,000 or more.

It’s no wonder that many spouses have left their place on the farm seeking jobs with health care benefits for their families. When I worked at Sargento Cheese, many women married to self-employed husbands took jobs solely for the insurance and prescription drug benefit. When I finally became eligible for a family policy, we were able to drop the farm’s family policy and take out a single policy on my husband, saving over $1,000 a month.

There has to be a better solution than extending the family workforce. But because farmers work in a high-risk occupation and most farm operations do not have enough employees to qualify for participation in large insurance purchasing pools, they’re stuck paying high premiums and deductibles and incredible out-of-pocket expenses. But the Wisconsin Farm Bureau is trying to launch major reforms on how health care is accessed and paid for by Wisconsin farm families.

According to the Wisconsin Ag Connection, at today’s Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Middleton, WFBF President Bill Bruins of Waupun announced the formation of a new health care task force to provide affordable, accessible health care to all farmers in the state. He vowed the group won’t stop until it makes headway in making health care affordable on Wisconsin farms.
The Farm Bureau has been working with the Wisconsin Health Project, and others to develop a market-based, consumer-driven reform plan that makes health insurance more affordable for farmers, and improves the level of coverage they need.

The Task force would analyze the impact and benefits to farmers on different legislative reforms and make recommendations on positions on legislative initiatives and identify health care partnership opportunities. The panel would consist of Farm Bureau members, insurance and tax specialists, health insurance administrators, and others who have the desire and insights to help Farm Bureau raise the awareness of the health care situation agriculture faces.