Farm Bureau members traveled to the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines last week to visit with lawmakers and to rally support for bills in the House and Senate that would allow Farm Bureau and Wellmark to offer affordable health care benefits.

“We really need this change because health insurance is just not affordable now for people who are self-employed, like farmers,” said A. J. Neff, a Keokuk County Farm Bureau member. “It’s something that needs to be changed.”

Rich Roorda, a Jasper County Farm Bureau member, said the rising premiums for health care insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is forcing many farmers and rural Iowans to go without health care coverage. “It’s just not ...