Report: Rural families spend more on health insurance

High Plains Journal, March 11, 2008

Farmers and ranchers spend more money on health insurance than most Americans, according to The Access Project, a research organization at Brandeis University in Boston. A survey found that one in four producers have financial problems because of the cost of health insurance. The researchers' sample included more than 2,000 farmers and ranchers in North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota. According to the report, families who farm and ranch in those states are at a disadvantage to other families because they often have to purchase health insurance in the individual market.