“Florence Becot, a researcher with Penn State University, has focused on farmer access to services like healthcare, child care, and mental health services for the past decade. She said access to affordable healthcare has been a persistent issue year over year.
When the ACA was first adopted, Becot said, farmers were split on the package. For some it was life changing, while others lost access to coverage plans they’d had for years. But more recently, with the passage of the credits and other additions to the ACA, the cost for plans have dropped.
Getting insurance from the ACA marketplace has often been the last resort for many farmers, she said, but many have found it easier because of the ACA credits.
Now approximately 27 percent of farmers rely on healthcare from the marketplace, which is about triple the national average for the rest of the population, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the 2023 American Community Survey. This also represents a nearly 10 percent increase among farm households that relied on private direct-purchase insurance in 2015, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The bulk of farmers are buying their own healthcare because they are not under a group plan from a large employer. The out-of-pocket premium payment for ACA marketplace enrollees across income levels was an annual average of $888 in 2025, but that is expected to increase to $1,904 in 2026, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study.”
PA farmers face rising health care costs as ACA subsidies expire | National | foxbangor.com