{"id":73834,"date":"2018-12-06T11:35:17","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T17:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=73834"},"modified":"2018-12-06T11:35:17","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T17:35:17","slug":"illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois farmers torn about health insurance options"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alexis Shanes<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Illinois farmers, faced with exploding health care costs, are turning away from the individual health insurance market as they seek solutions to one of several ballooning financial woes.<\/p>\n

Association healthcare plans could provide an answer, said Christina Nourie, an Illinois Farm Bureau legislative coordinator.<\/p>\n

Association plans allow small businesses or organizations to join together to purchase health insurance on behalf of their members just as a large employer would, she said during a talk Saturday at the IFB Annual Meeting in Chicago. But legislation would be needed to authorize such plans in Illinois and other states.
\n
\nFarm bureaus are a textbook example, as they join numerous small enterprises \u2014 farms \u2014 that often are pressed for cash and have limited access to health care resources.<\/p>\n

The Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, mandated that association plans cover 10 essential health benefits, including emergency services, hospitalization, mental health services and prescription drugs, much like the requirements for normal small business or individual plans.<\/p>\n

But in his quest to undercut Obamacare, President Donald Trump in June signed an executive order lessening regulations for association plans, Vox reported. The action made association plans available to self-employed individuals such as farmers, not just small businesses. This is now a more feasible option for organizations such as the IFB.<\/p>\n

However, after the executive order, association plans are no longer required to provide the 10 essential benefits, resulting in insurance plans that can be cheaper but limited in scope, and that often may not provide adequate coverage for older, sicker people.<\/p>\n

Despite their limitations, as farmers increasingly struggle to find affordable health care, an association health care approach could work for the IFB, although the group still is early research stages of assessing plans, said Chris Magnuson, the IFB\u2019s executive director of operations, news and communications.<\/p>\n

The IFB is pursuing a policy similar to a Nebraska Farm Bureau association plan \u201cbecause they are actually working under the administration\u2019s new rules\u201d and are still ACA compliant, Magnuson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey’re estimating it could reduce the cost by 10 or 15 percent from what members may be able to get on the individual market,\u201d Magnuson said of the Nebraska plan. \u201cI’m not wanting to oversell its benefits, but it is something that could provide some savings.\u201d<\/p>\n

For IFB\u2019s constituents, any plan that might offer relief is worth exploring.<\/p>\n

Shelby Hoerner is a farmer in Livingston County with pre-existing health conditions. His wife, who has worked the same full-time job for 30 years, receives some health insurance reimbursement but no formal plan. The resulting toll on their finances to maintain full health insurance coverage even with ACA is crippling.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur payments are $25,000 a year,\u201d said Shelby Hoerner, adding that he even had to find a new doctor to accept his current plan. \u201cAnd we have huge deductibles.<\/p>\n

\u201cObamacare \u2014 when it came in, it was fine,\u201d he added. \u201cSince then, it’s just skyrocketed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoerner, in his early 60s, plans to transition to Medicaid soon. But he said many of his colleagues in agriculture don\u2019t have the means to provide health care for themselves and their families, even with\u00a0 ACA.<\/p>\n

A survey ahead of the annual meeting revealed that affordable health care is a priority for most IFB members, Magnuson said. Of the nearly 2,500 respondents, 47 percent said they do not have access to employer-based coverage, and 61 percent were interested in health insurance through an association health plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very much on the minds of members,\u201d Magnuson said. \u201cAlmost half our members are in need of health insurance options.\u201d<\/p>\n

But state-level politics would make passing an AHP law in Illinois difficult, Nourie said. The 2018 midterm elections brought Democratic majorities in the Illinois House and Senate, along with a Democratic governor-elect, J.B. Pritzker, tinting the state blue. Illinois has not yet taken action for or against association plans, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocratic-leaning states are looking at ways to make it more restrictive,\u201d Nourie said. \u201cRepublican-leaning states are looking at ways to make it easier to set up\u201d an association plan.<\/p>\n

Those party divisions stem from threats to the existing individual and small business marketplaces involving association health care plans. The plans tend to draw younger, healthier people, potentially destabilizing the individual market, which Nourie cited as the reason why a left-leaning state might reject association plan legislation. Those who didn\u2019t transition to the association plan surely would face raised premiums.<\/p>\n

But Shelby Hoerner\u2019s daughter, Sarah Hoerner, said she wonders if an association plan would benefit anyone other than the younger crowd \u2014 an important question for a population comprised increasingly of individuals in their late 50s, according to the U.S. Census, who engage in a relatively hazardous occupation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it really an option for someone like my dad, who’s got pre-existing conditions and is in his 60s?\u201d she said. \u201cOr is it just going to be young and healthy people?<\/p>\n

\u201cStates are saying \u2018no,\u2019 but why?\u201d she added. \u201cPoliticians are politicians, but usually, if somebody is up in arms about something, there’s a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah Hoerner, an agricultural lender with a bank, said health care is the fastest growing living cost for farm families. Data from the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management program, a University of Illinois service, shows medical costs for farmers have increased more than $3,600 in the past decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing I hear from my customers, these more experienced farmers, is, \u2018How am I going to pay for this?\u2019\u201d Sarah Hoerner said. \u201cThey tell the young farmers, \u2018You or your wife have to have an off-farm job because someone has to have health insurance.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost if you don’t have health insurance and you have a catastrophic event is just \u2014 you can bankrupt your farm,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

For Shelby Hoerner and his wife, a \u201cright\u201d answer doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the group of people that insurers can charge because we have no other options,\u201d he said. \u201cWe’re caught in a vacuum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: The Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting featured a discussion about solutions to farmers’ rising health care costs. (Reporter Alexis Shanes\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alexis Shanes Medill Reports Illinois farmers, faced with exploding health care costs, are turning away from the individual health insurance market as they seek solutions to one of several ballooning financial woes. Association healthcare plans could provide an answer, said Christina Nourie, an Illinois Farm Bureau legislative coordinator. Association plans allow small businesses or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":500,"featured_media":73836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4447],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2018"],"yoast_head":"\nIllinois farmers torn about health insurance options - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illinois farmers torn about health insurance options - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Alexis Shanes Medill Reports Illinois farmers, faced with exploding health care costs, are turning away from the individual health insurance market as they seek solutions to one of several ballooning financial woes. Association healthcare plans could provide an answer, said Christina Nourie, an Illinois Farm Bureau legislative coordinator. Association plans allow small businesses or […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-06T17:35:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/ilfb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"825\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"alexisshanes2019\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"alexisshanes2019\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/\",\"name\":\"Illinois farmers torn about health insurance options - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/ilfb.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-06T17:35:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/cbf36ab019873d0b358f5acaff4e0bf5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/ilfb.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/ilfb.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":825},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Illinois farmers torn about health insurance options\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\",\"name\":\"Medill Reports Chicago\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/cbf36ab019873d0b358f5acaff4e0bf5\",\"name\":\"alexisshanes2019\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df0f10b37e859ec9dbdf1062768299d1f086213638fdd94e8360e19d20665ffc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df0f10b37e859ec9dbdf1062768299d1f086213638fdd94e8360e19d20665ffc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"alexisshanes2019\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/alexisshanes2019\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Illinois farmers torn about health insurance options - Medill Reports Chicago","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Illinois farmers torn about health insurance options - Medill Reports Chicago","og_description":"By Alexis Shanes Medill Reports Illinois farmers, faced with exploding health care costs, are turning away from the individual health insurance market as they seek solutions to one of several ballooning financial woes. Association healthcare plans could provide an answer, said Christina Nourie, an Illinois Farm Bureau legislative coordinator. Association plans allow small businesses or […]","og_url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/","og_site_name":"Medill Reports Chicago","article_published_time":"2018-12-06T17:35:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":825,"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/ilfb.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"alexisshanes2019","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"alexisshanes2019","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/","name":"Illinois farmers torn about health insurance options - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/ilfb.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-06T17:35:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/cbf36ab019873d0b358f5acaff4e0bf5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/ilfb.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2018\/12\/ilfb.jpg","width":1100,"height":825},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/illinois-farmers-torn-about-health-insurance-options\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Illinois farmers torn about health insurance options"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/","name":"Medill Reports Chicago","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/cbf36ab019873d0b358f5acaff4e0bf5","name":"alexisshanes2019","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df0f10b37e859ec9dbdf1062768299d1f086213638fdd94e8360e19d20665ffc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/df0f10b37e859ec9dbdf1062768299d1f086213638fdd94e8360e19d20665ffc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"alexisshanes2019"},"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/alexisshanes2019\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/500"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}