Dairy farmers face health insurance crisis

Although farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in Wisconsin, a new study from UW–Madison shows that more than 40 percent of dairy farmers either have no health insurance or have plans that don’t cover all their family members.

Last spring, researchers from the university’s Program on Agricultural Technology (PATS) surveyed some 1,600 dairy farmers; the results are based on 869 responses.

The findings show that 18 percent of dairy farm families have no insurance and only 59 percent have health plans that cover all members of the household. About 80 percent of the families lack health insurance that includes routine visits to doctors and other preventative care. Most with insurance have only major medical coverage with high deductibles.

“This situation is bad both for Wisconsin dairy farm families and for the dairy sector as a whole,” says Jeremy Foltz, an economist and associate director of PATS. “It should be a great concern in Wisconsin where dairy farming generates billions of dollars of farm and manufactured product sales.”

PATS will continue to study the issue; it plans to bring diverse groups together to explore alternatives that may be more effective in helping dairy farm families and others in rural areas.