Finding consistent, quality healthcare can be a challenge in some rural areas.
It is something that the Wisconsin Farm Bureau knows well and says it has a ripple effect on entire communities.
“What we learned in our conversations with members about this health plan discussion is it kind of drives some of the other major challenges that they face. So, if your option as a farmer to get health coverage continues to be what it has been for years, where it’s mom and dad sitting at the breakfast table deciding which one of you is going to get a full-time job off the farm to get access to health care, what comes with that is no money, right? Because you’re just working for those health benefits,” said Tim Fiocchi.
A lot of farmers and ranchers have turned to off-farm work just to get by. It can work in some cases, but that often leaves holes at home.
“You’re taking your own labor away from being available to the farm, and that may require you then hire someone. So, whatever income you’re bringing in is going out the door for that, and it probably means that you have to go out and try to find daycare when there’s barely any available. Daycare is a challenge everywhere, but in an area wherever you’re going to drive to might be half an hour or 45 minutes away, at 45 minutes away, is that even available?”
While there are options, like the Affordable Care Act, Fiocchi says the unique business structure of farming can make it harder for farmers to qualify.
