Health care expenditures of self-employed farm households in the United States

For self-employed individuals and their families, purchases of health care services and health insurance policies have the potential to impact their health status, as well as the financial viability of their businesses. Most people in the United States receive health insurance coverage through employer-sponsored programs. Self-employed individuals and their households, such as farm households, may face a greater challenge in getting affordable health insurance. Using a large cross-sectional farm household level dataset, we estimate the impact of the source of health insurance on health care expenditures of farm households in the United States. Results suggest that farm households purchasing individual health insurance directly from vendors are likely to spend more on health care than those with other sources of health insurance. After controlling for a variety of personal and local area characteristics, having health insurance was negatively related to total health care expenditures. Age and income, not surprisingly, were also found to be significant in explaining health care expenditures.