WINONA, MO – On August 3, 2017, Congressman Jason Smith stopped at Hilltop Farm in Shannon County and spoke with owner John Charles about his concerns over rising health insurance premiums.
Charles owns and operates Hilltop Farm where they grow and harvest produce to sell at farmers markets and to the local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group. The CSA has grown from seven to 26 members over the last year. Charles currently has 29 raised beds for growing produce, and is planning on adding 20 more.
Smith’s focus on farms raises issues about everything from regulations that slow down farmers’ work to taxes and healthcare. Charles shared with Congressman Smith that right now, he is most concerned about the cost of healthcare for his family and that their Obamacare premiums have doubled in the last year.
“Farmers in southeast and south central Missouri should be worried about taking care of their land and raising their crops, not about how much health insurance is going to cost,” said Congressman Smith.
“In addition to voting to completely repeal Obamacare multiple times, the House has also passed several pieces of legislation, one in particular that would help farmers like John,” said Congressman Smith.
The Small Business Health Fairness Act was coauthored by Smith and passed with bipartisan support by the House of Representatives on March 22, 2017. If passed by the Senate, the legislation would help not just farmers, but folks all across southeast and south central Missouri who could benefit from buying health insurance with a larger group.
“This bill would allow farmers and small businesses to ban together with other farmers in southeast and south central Missouri to buy health insurance together which would drive down the cost of their premiums,” said Congressman Smith.
This is the fifth year in a row that Congressman Jason Smith has dedicated the month of August to focus on farms in southeast and south central Missouri. Throughout this month, Congressman Smith will visit Missouri’s agricultural operations to hear directly from farmers, ranchers and agriculture industry professionals to get a better understanding of what challenges they are facing and how he can help as they work to feed and supply America.
One of the biggest concerns Smith heard about during last August’s focus on farms was the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation, which sought to federally regulate every drop of water on Missouri farmers’ land. In the last year, Smith worked directly with the Trump Administration to stop this rule and relieve Missouri farmers from the burden of WOTUS.
Congressman Smith has plans to stop at farms in each of the 30 counties in Missouri's Eighth Congressional District as he has done every August since he was elected. This year’s focus on farms will highlight the people in our area who run these operations and the tremendous impact that agriculture has on the economy and rural way of life in southeast and south central Missouri.
