It's finally happened!

As of March 1, the Farmers' Health Cooperative of Wisconsin (FHCW) will begin enrolling farmers, their families and employees, and others working in the state's agribusinesses in a new, statewide, health insurance purchasing cooperative.

The affordable, quality health insurance plan that farmers and others in the state's agricultural industry have long called for was announced at the State Capitol on Monday.

It didn't happen quickly. Agri-View subscribers have been reading for years about efforts to help farmers obtain the kind of health insurance only their city cousins seemed to be able to access - and even when a farm family obtained such a plan the cost may have quickly skyrocketed out of reach.

Or the spouse working on the farm may have found out too late - often, after a debilitating farm accident - that he or she wasn't covered for farm-related injuries.

Bill Oemichen, president and CEO of Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives, said the new FHCW was worth waiting for.

"FHCW is an innovative and a unique health care plan written by farmers for farmers and will provide health insurance designed to address the needs and wants of farmers and other agribusinesses at an affordable price," Oemichen said.

"The quality of the insurance plans being offered through the cooperative is comparable to those currently available only to larger businesses," he added.

Members will be able to choose from six products. They will have the freedom to choose their own doctors and hospitals, first dollar coverage of preventive care and a comprehensive benefit package.

The FHCW has been created under the "Co-op Care" law crafted by WFC to help farmers and small employers gain leverage in the health insurance market. While Co-op Care has spurred a handful of small employer cooperatives in various stages of development around the state, FHCW will be the first of its kind dedicated to serving Wisconsin farmers and agribusiness across the state.

Sign up

Any producer of any size can signup for the new plan. "But it should be people who get a substantial amount of income from their farming operation," Oemichen said. The Co-op Care Board will decide what "substantial" means, he added.

"We want FHCW members to be active farm workers, their families and employees. We're not going to enroll relatives who do not work on the farm," Oemichen said, adding, "This is for people who work the soil."

Members of FHCW will find a real live person answering a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week call center, Oemichen said. There will also be dedicated toll free lines just for Wisconsin customers.

FHCW will become operational on April 1. At that time it will offer a network of 150 hospitals, 500 care facilities, 17,000 physicians, a nurse hotline and another hotline that will offer 24-hour claims service.

Producers will be asked to sign a three-year contract, Oemichen said. They will also be asked to pay a "deposit" of one month's premium which will be returned after three years.

Cost of FHCW health care coverage has not been determined because individual rates will vary, probably quite widely. Cost will be determined by underwriters with actuarial and legal help after the sign-up is underway.

Administration of FHCW is contracting with Aetna, one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, to underwrite the insurance for cooperative members.

While other insurance companies have shown "a lot of interest," Oemichen said "Aetna really surpassed the others in their willingness to address the needs specific to Wisconsin agriculture.

"Instead of trying to make us fit into their idea of what insurance should look like, they worked with us to design products that fit this industry. Their flexibility and attentiveness to farmers' concerns really shows their commitment to helping Wisconsin save family farms," he added.

"Support for the agricultural community is consistent with Aetna's commitment to expand access to health care for all Americans," said David Corkum, Aetna Region Head for National Accounts. "One important way to ensure the continued vitality of the family farm is to protect its health and wealth. Maintaining adequate health coverage can prevent unexpected medical expenses from leading to catastrophic loss."

This type of commitment to agriculture fits in well with the type of health insurance plan WFC wanted for Wisconsin farmers. "Aetna has a unique understanding of the agriculture industry thanks to its partnership with Agri-Services Agency (ASA)," Oemichen said.

ASA, an insurance management company located in New York State, has real experience dealing with farmers and agribusinesses because it is owned by Dairylea Cooperative, a co-op that serves about 70,000 farmers and agribusinesses in the Northeast.

In Wisconsin, Oemichen said, "ASA handles insurance for CRI at Shawano. CEO Doug Wilson told us they've been very pleased with ASA services."

Benefits

Aetna will also have a 24-hour nurse line that callers can access to help diagnose a medical condition. "This will help determine if someone needs to go to an urgent care center or directly to the hospital," Oemichen suggested.

There will be 24-hour health care coverage, which means any farm injuries will have full coverage. "The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance says a large number of Wisconsin farmers do not have that kind of coverage now. They may think they have it, but they do not," Oemichen said.

There will also be pharmaceutical drug coverage and preventative health care services offered. This will include screenings for up to $500 per member per year.

Another offering will be Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).

There is a range of deductibles with the lowest deductible at $300 and the highest at $5,000.

Anyone in a health care plan now will not be denied coverage, Oemichen emphasized. "FHCW will not be rejecting individuals because of pre-existing conditions," Oemichen said, although he acknowledged the cost of covering some of those conditions could be quite high. "Those already in a high risk pool may find it advantageous to remain there," he added.

Applicants will be subject to underwriting but it is not an extensive process, Oemichen said. "There are only five questions that will be asked for underwriting purposes."

Premiums paid for coverage will be deductible.

"We want to have a balanced pool and there will not be cherry picking (some companies, for instance, will only cover the healthiest persons in a family or business)," Oemichen explained.

WFC's role

With lack of affordable and accessible health care insurance cited as the Number One reason people are getting out of farming, Oemichen had no hesitation in involving WFC in the search for answers.

More statistics bear this out: 18 percent of Wisconsin farmers are uninsured and 41 percent are unable to afford to ensure every family member.

Like other cooperatives, FHCW will be owned and governed by its farmer and agribusiness members, which means they will be directly involved in the financial and benefit decisions made by the cooperative. In developing FHCW, Oemichen said WFC sought input from thousands of farmers to find out what is and isn't working in their current health care plans. "To sum it up, there is a lot that isn't working," he said.

Rod Nilsestuen, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and former WFC president and CEO, verifies the lack of health insurance coverage has become a major stress for farmers and has forced many farm families to find off-farm work to receive health benefits.

"We're not collecting any fees or commissions for WFC," Oemichen told Agri-View. "Getting to this point has been a three and one-half year process and WFC has invested more than $600,000 worth of staff time in the process. But our co-op members will benefit from affordable health insurance and I can't complement our board of directors enough. They looked at our efforts as an added benefit for cooperatives statewide," Oemichen said.

But Oemichen also had a warning: "There is no silver bullet," he said. There are lots of things that still need to be done."

Others helped

WFC's efforts were bolstered by a number of strong partners, Oemichen said.

"WFC could not have achieved this success without the support of our member cooperatives; U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin); Congressman David Obey (D-Wausau); the UW School of Medicine and Public Health's Wisconsin Partnership Program; AgStar Fund for Rural America; the DATCP; Gov. Jim Doyle; State Senators Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) and Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton); former Rep. Curt Gielow (R-Mequon); Rep. Al Ott (R-Forest Junction); USDA Rural Development and the Wisconsin Legislature," he said.

Kohl and Obey helped secure a $2.4 million federal grant for the initial operating capital for FHCW; the DATCP provided a start-up grant of $72,000; the Wisconsin Partnership Fund provided a $10,000 grant, and AgStar Financial Services gave a $10,000 grant.

"We are proud to stand side by side with these forward thinking individuals and organizations to bring something unique and innovative to the state of Wisconsin." Oemichen said.

Oemichen named a number of other co-operatives, WFC members and non-members, who had been instrumental in helping FHCW get off the ground. The list included CRI, all four Farm Credit agencies, Land O'Lakes, Foremost Farms, CSA, AMPI, Swiss Valley and more.

Like other cooperatives, FHCW will be owned and governed by its farmer and agribusiness members, which means they will be directly involved in the financial and benefit decisions made by the cooperative.

Serving on the Co-op Care Board of Directors - the ones who worked closely to the successful launch of FHCW - were:

Jeff Bennesch, a dairy and cash grain farmer from Colfax.

Sandy Cihlar's entire life has been centered on the dairy industry. She and her husband milk about 200 Holsteins near Mosinee.

Melissa Duffy - WFC's government relations director and former policy advisor to the State Senate Committee on Health, Utilities and Veterans and Military Affairs.

Robert Grabarski, an agricultural producer and operator of a diversified dairy and crop farm near Arkdale.

State Senator Sheila Harsdorf, who has spent 17 years in the Wisconsin Legislature and who has served as a member of the Joint Finance Committee and the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

Katie Mnuk, project coordinator for WFC's Co-op Care Project and former chief of staff for state Senator Ron Brown.

Bill Oemichen - WFC president and CEO and former top Wisconsin Consumer Protection official.

Bob Topel, a founding member of Foremost Farms USA board of directors and operator off a 215-cow dairy near Waterloo.

Dan Truttman, operator of a 160-cow dairy grazing operation and co-founder of Edelweiss Graziers Cooperative.

What's next?

WFC received support for FHCW from Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. WFBF President Bill Bruins said, "We applaud the WFC for their hard work to pull this health care cooperative together. Farm Bureau will continue to look at reforms in our health care system to find solutions to control the overall cost of health insurance to farmers and small businesses and improve the level of basic coverage they need."

Oemichen says the new health care cooperative plans will not go unnoticed by other insurers. In fact, he looks for some companies to offer lower rates in order to remain competitive.

So far, Oemichen hasn't returned inquiries from USDA and the Harvard School of Rural Health about FHCW.

Individual farmers, farmers with employees and agribusinesses can start the sign-up process on March 1. Coverage will become available on April 1.

For more information about FHCW, call 800-539-9370 or visit its website at http://www.farmershealthcooperative.com.