Minding Ag's Business

Most farmers have put decisions on 2014 health care on the back burner--until they know more about how the Affordable Care Act's individual and employer options materialize. When researching DTN's recent series "Health Care Countdown," DTN Contributing Editor Elizabeth Williams and I even found quite a few corn and soybean farmers who don't yet believe the government will implement mandatory insurance coverage starting Jan. 1, thanks to the 40 attempts by congressional conservatives to revoke the law. That's the deadline formost US citizens and legal immigrants to have coverage,either through their employers, Medicare/Medicaid, their spouses'plans or through statewide marketplaces.

(Ignoring the deadlinewould be a big mistake, numerous CPAs and health experts caution, since the hospitals, doctors and insurance companies already are adapting for the inevitable and there's no alternative Republican plan on the table just weeks before a nationwide kickoff.)

What does make sense is for small business owners with fewer than 50 employees to watch the insurance marketplace offerings in their state come Oct. 1. You aren't obligated to buy group insurance there, but in some cases,youmay be offered more affordable coverage for yourselves or your employees--both as individuals or perhaps as group plan policyholders in the state SHOP marketplaces. What you might have to sacrifice for price is access to your preferred doctors, though, so check that which physicians are covered first.

Small business owners know it's the cost of insurance that's the issue--and they told us they are tired of double-digit policy increases year after year. A Massachusetts cranberry farmer spends over $20,000 a year to cover herself and family members. Farmer Christian Yunker of New York has slashed his employer contribution to insurance premiums to 50% from 80% in the last two years; Tom Farms of Indiana has raised deductibles to keep costs manageable; Stacie Koger of Mississippi just swallowed a 16% premium increase for her family members and employees, but she's holding on for the moment.

In fact, a DTN poll conducted last week of 400 respondents found that 40% were using high-deductible plans to keep their health care costs under control; another 10% used Health Savings Accounts--which allow health care payments including insurance premiums--in pre-tax dollars; 4% increased employees share of premiums. About 8% said controlling high costs wasn't applicable because they carried no insurance on themselves. Most of the balance acquired insurance through their spouses or already qualified for Medicare.

When some types of chemotherapy cost more than $100,000 a year--like treatment for bone marrow cancer--medical costs can get your attention. Chronic care which requires high cost pharmaceuticals can be a major financial drain. It's in all of our best interest to monitor the first launch of health care reform--and help find solutions that work.

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