For dairy farm families across Wisconsin, health insurance has become one more major problem in their lives. A new University of Wisconsin-Madison study reveals that more than 40 percent of dairy farmers either have no health insurance at all, or have insurance that does not cover all their family members.

The study found that the health insurance problem was most acute among young families and those that have just begun farming, as well as among families with smaller farms.

Although farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in Wisconsin, even dairy farmers with insurance seldom have policies comparable with the urban residents, most of whom obtain coverage through an outside employer. Four out of five Wisconsin dairy farm families lack health insurance that covers routine visits to doctors for checkups and other preventive care. Most of those with insurance have only major medical coverage with high deductibles.

Researchers at the University”s Program on Agricultural Technology Studies (PATS) conducted the study last spring, according to Jeremy Foltz, an economist and the associate director of PATS. The results are based on 869 dairy farmers who responded to a survey sent to a randomly selected sample of 1,600 dairy farmers.

The health insurance problems of dairy farmers and their families are far worse than those faced by state residents in general, and more difficult than those faced by other types of farm families.

Although the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services reports that 96 percent of the state”s citizens have insurance, the new study shows that 18 percent of dairy farm families have no insurance and only 59 percent have health insurance for all members of the household. “Of those with insurance, precious few have adequate health coverage,” according to Foltz.

“This situation is bad both for Wisconsin dairy farm families and for the dairy sector as a whole,” he says. “It should be a great concern in Wisconsin where dairy farming generates billions of dollars of farm and manufactured product sales. The dairy sector is the backbone of the state”s agricultural economy. When dairy farmers suffer economically, their problems ripple through our rural communities.”

Although the extent of the problem may surprise city dwellers whose biggest concern is HMO rate increases and selecting a doctor they like, the findings are all too familiar to those in rural Wisconsin.

“When we go out and meet with rural residents, people bring up the insurance issue over and over again,” says Carol Roth, who leads the outreach efforts of PATS. “While the problem for dairy farmers amounts to a crisis, it”s not restricted to them. Many people who own small, independent businesses in rural areas face similar problems.”

Foltz says that potential help from the public and private sector — such as Badger Care, and insurance from co-ops, off-farm employers and private pay plans — has not effectively addressed this crisis. PATS will continue to study the problem, and hopes to bring diverse groups together to explore alternatives that may be more effective in helping dairy farm families and others in rural areas.

As long as dairy farm families are disadvantaged in this way, it will be a challenge to policy makers to find resourceful ways to make certain that health insurance coverage is available, affordable, and accessible for all Wisconsin citizens, according to Foltz. He says it does not appear that there is a single solution. “It will probably take several different strategies working in concert to provide quality health care for the state”s dairy farmers and others in rural areas,” he says.

Without affordable insurance options for dairy farmers, Wisconsin is likely to see even more families leaving or fewer entering dairy farming. That is happening just as the state”s dairy industry needs to retain its skilled farmers and increase milk output.

The Program on Agricultural Technology Studies conducts innovative research and outreach to strengthen the future of Wisconsin farming. The program is part of the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and linked with the Cooperative Extension Service of UW Extension.

For more information on PATS research publications, visit the program”s website at www.wisc.edu/pats or call (608) 265-2908.