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Title: CA Issue Brief No. 2: Who Experiences Financial Hardship Because of Health Care Costs?
(2008 Health Insurance Survey of California Farm and Ranch Operators)
Copyright Date: Nov. 2008
Pages: 20
Authors: Carol Pryor, The Access Project; Jeffrey Prottas, Brandeis University; Bill Lottero and Mark Rukavina, The Access Project
Description: The Access Project conducted a survey of more than 1,700 California family farmers and ranchers, and this second issue brief in the series shows that while nine in ten respondents have health insurance, one in five report that insurance premiums and other out-of-pocket health care costs are causing financial difficulties for themselves and their families.
These families report spending 37 percent of their income on health care coverage and medical costs. In addition, nearly one-third of farmers and ranchers report spending at least 10 percent of their annual income on health insurance premiums, prescriptions and other out-of-pocket medical costs. Farm and ranch operators are especially hard hit because they are often forced to buy insurance on the individual, non-group market, where insurance costs more and often covers less.
For more information on the report, including a Photo Essay of Farm and Ranch Families telling their stories, please go to the California Endowment website at www.tce.org.
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Topics: Rural Health | Medical Debt