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Health insurance a huge issue on the farm
Story Date: 2/13/2018
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Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/12/18
Many farmers have an even bigger worry than low commodity prices, NAFTA or the farm bill: the cost of health care. Nearly two thirds of commercial farmers say the cost of health insurance poses the biggest threat to their livelihoods, according to a new study, POLITICO's Elizabeth Castillo reports this morning.
The study found that most farmers went to great lengths to get insurance, cobbling it together with great difficulty.
"We really would love it if we didn't have to worry about me having a full-time job for insurance so that we could just farm and ranch," one rancher who commuted to a full-time job 45 minutes away told researchers. "You'd get more done so you're not doing everything in the dark at 11 o'clock at night."
An under-the-radar worry: Despite the years-long national debate about health coverage, the issue has not been part of the discussion about the viability of farms and the agricultural economy, said Shoshanah Inwood, who co-authored the study and is an assistant professor at the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State University. But injuries and deaths are far too common on the farm, as Pro Ag alum Ian Kullgren reported last year.
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