Farmers Union Warns North Dakota Ag Producers Could Walk Away From Health Insurance

(Photo by Lora Wobbema/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Seven in ten North Dakota Farmers Union agriculture producers will be affected by Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year, an official with the organization warned members this month.

Lance Boyer, sales director of financial products for the North Dakota Farmers Union, said the enhanced tax credits that were part of the American Rescue Plan Act approved in 2021 brought down health insurance premiums for members.

After the tax credits took effect, the North Dakota Farmers Union saw people who had previously been uninsured buy health insurance policies, he said.

With the subsidies set to expire unless Congress votes to extend them, Boyer said federal lawmakers haven’t focused enough on the self-employed farmers who will find it difficult to pay for increased health insurance premiums.