Florida fruit and vegetable growers, as well as others involved in the state’s agriculture industry, are worried. Health care reform being crafted by Congress contains some elements and omissions that could mean financial and administrative nightmares for producers.

The problems fall into three key areas:

- The seasonal and temporary nature of work on farms
- Joint employment and joint liability for those who employ farmworkers
- Economic consequences from farmer to consumer

Employers who elect to provide coverage must pay a minimum of 72.5 percent of the premium for single coverage and 65 percent of the premium for family coverage for full-time employees, and an as-yet-undetermined prorated percentage for part-time employees.

Those provisions spell trouble for farmers because they treat agricultural work as if it were office or factory employment. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Seasonal and temporary nature of the work:

A major flaw in the bill is that it does not recognize the unique realities of agricultural operations that require large numbers of temporary and seasonal workers.

For example, how does an employer provide health coverage when some seasonal planting and harvesting work may last for months and other jobs may only last for a few weeks? In addition, many employees work for several growers during the course of a season – who will be responsible for their coverage? A grower with 300 jobs available may see as many as five times that many workers in a season – what will the administrative requirements be?

This challenge is not new to farmers. Responsible agricultural employers have struggled for years to provide coverage for workers, but the transient nature of the workforce has made it impossible for insurers.

Joint employment and joint liability:

Farmers employ many workers on a short-term basis, a situation that is further complicated because many growers work through farm labor contractors who move their workers from farm to farm throughout the season. The bill does not address how each party will divide the responsibilities. Will labor contractors be able to live up to the responsibilities this bill might impose or will they drop by the wayside, meaning the farm labor pool would be greatly reduced?

Economic consequences:

Farmers walk a financial tightrope in a good year. Regulatory pressures already are great, and they’ve always held their breath when it comes to droughts, freezes and hurricanes. If farm labor contractors end up passing the cost of insurance or penalties on to the growers, how many will remain in business?

Further, how can a grower survive a penalty of up to 8 percent of payroll because of the difficulties of insuring temporary workers?

The ultimate consequence could be the outsourcing of America's food supply to other countries where food safety, environmental regulations and labor practices are below U.S. standards.

We all need to act now.

Growers, industry members and consumers who look forward to U.S.-grown fresh produce all have a responsibility to educate Congress on the fallout should this health care legislation pass. Senators and representatives are back in their home districts during summer recess for a very short time.

Please contact your congressional representative to urge consideration of agriculture’s special circumstances in any health care reform legislation. FFVA has made it easy for its members with our Grassroots Action Center. At the bottom of the screen, click on the gray "Take Action" button. You will be taken through a few short steps to be provided with your representative’s district phone number and some suggested points to make during your call.

What’s next?

The most recent action, passage of H.R. 3200 by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, follows passage by two other House panels. During the August recess, the three committee bills may be combined into a single bill for the full House to consider.

Senate committees are still working on their versions of the bill.

Before either the full House or Senate can vote on a bill, the committee chairmen and other congressional leaders will have to hammer out compromises in order to bring a single bill to the floor. Once the House and Senate finalize each bill, they must then be reconciled again in Conference Committee.

The Conference Committee would then bring a final bill to each chamber that would have to be voted on and passed. If that happens, the bill would go to the president who would sign it if he approved, and it would become law.