For the past few years, farmers have faced a gradually shrinking labor pool. With undocumented workers being driven out of several states, and with the overall US economy attracting fewer and fewer immigrants, farmers have had a difficult time attracting new workers.
While farm labor pools have decreased, potential employer costs could significantly increase over the next several years. While the federal government has delayed many provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, by 2015 mandatory employer health coverage could go into effect, leading to significant costs for farmers across the country.
“Everybody is afraid of the cost,” said one California insurance executive. “It’s difficult when you’ve got 1,000 workers who’ve never had health insurance before, to get an idea of what their costs will be.”
Some farmers are already predicting that they will need to defray the costs of health insurance mandates by increasing the price of their product, essentially shifting the cost to consumers.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer