AFBF: Health Insurance Tax Will Have A Direct Impact On Farmers

When the Health Insurance Tax goes into effect, the American Farm Bureau Federation said it will add significantly to the cost of health insurance for a self-employed individual.  And while Congress has delayed implementation of the tax through 2019, Pat Wolff, AFBF senior director of congressional relations, warns the tax will be in full force come 2020.

“That’s a tax that’s imposed on health insurance companies based on the premiums they collect from self-employed persons. It adds $500 to the average cost of health insurance for a self-employed person. Legislation has been introduced to delay and repeal that tax.”

Senate Bill 172 would delay the HIT through 2021, while Senate Bill 80 would get rid of it altogether.  Wolff said the fact that the bills were introduced early gives her hope that Congress will get the issue taken care of for farmers and other self-employed Americans.

“Farmers need good health insurance and they need to be able to afford it. Anything that adds to the cost of health insurance is just bad. It makes it harder for farmers and ranchers to get good health insurance coverage, and that’s why that tax needs to be repealed,” Wolff said.

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