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Earlier this week, Ohio Farm Bureau President Bill Patterson testified before the Ohio House Insurance Committee in support of SB 100, which would result in the creation of Farm Bureau Health Plans, giving access to affordable, personalized health care plans for Ohio farm families who do not have access to health insurance as an employee benefit or who are uninsured or underinsured due to high costs and limited options in the marketplace.

Patterson currently farms with his family in Geauga County, raising apples, strawberries, peaches, and producing maple syrup. During his testimony, he shared how every growth and expansion of his family farm has been to help solve a problem or address a need, and now his role as president at Ohio Farm Bureau is to help address the problems and needs of members throughout the state.

“We have long known the struggles of having to balance the health care needs of our family as we diversify our operation, not only expanding the operations of our farm, but expanding the generations of our family on the farm,” Patterson told the committee. “While every farm Ohio Farm Bureau represents is unique, struggling to address health care needs is something almost every farm family in Ohio has had to address at some point. We have consistently heard how many of our members are making their business and family decisions based on this one issue alone.”

Patterson shared some specific examples that he and other leaders within the organization have heard, including a farmer who wants to retire from farming full-time and let his adult children take over operations, but cannot afford the insurance premiums. They want to set up the next generation, but struggle to find options that would allow them to do so. He has also heard from members who would like to go back to the farm full-time, but after holding off-the-farm employment the majority of their adult lives, have apprehensions about giving up those employer benefits, like health insurance, to go back to the farm because they lack a safety net.

“This only scratches the surface of the barriers we hear that inhibit farmers and families from feeling they have what they need to move forward in their agricultural businesses,” Patterson said. “While employer-sponsored plans and subsidized marketplace plans will always be the best options for our members when available, the current system is just not friendly for many of our farm families, and they are left with monthly plan premiums higher than their mortgages, instability of available plans, or worse, no coverage at all.”

Patterson emphasized to the committee that Farm Bureau Health Plans will help close the gap for members without health care coverage and offer stability to a group of Ohioans who have little control over many aspects of their businesses. 

“These are complex problems that need creative and out-of-the-box solutions,” Patterson said. “These plans have a tenured track record of providing results to a niche group of consumers–they are a solution to a problem so many Ohioans are facing, and a solution where the results are known and positive.”

SB 100 was introduced by Sen. Susan Manchester (R-Lakeview) and passed the Ohio Senate unanimously before being heard by the House Insurance Committee. The House Insurance Committee had recently heard HB 99, introduced by Rep. Bob Peterson (R-Sabina) as a companion bill to SB 100, before now considering the version passed by the Senate.