Family of organic farmers chooses to pay penalty rather than join Obamacare

Saturday, November 02, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: organic family farmers, Obamacare penalty, health insurance

(NaturalNews) A family of organic farmers from Nebraska is refusing to sell its soul to Obamacare, according to new reports, instead choosing to comply with the federal "tax" for non-compliance. Even though the IRS has no legal authority to actually collect this so-called tax, the Bernts say they would rather pay it than have to deal with the Obamacare exchanges, explains Off The Grid News, a sentiment also shared by many others in the natural health community.

After undergoing a horrific experience with the health insurance industry some 20 years ago that almost left the family bankrupt, the Bernts say they are done with the system. In fact, they have been done with it for the past 20 years, maintaining their health the natural way through nutrition and healthy living, and paying out of pocket for health services as needed. The Bernts currently operate a 700-acre organic farm known as Clear Creek Organic Farms in the central part of the state that produces fruit, vegetables, pastured meats, fresh milk and other nutritious fare.

When the Bernts still had health insurance, they also had their daughter Rosie who was born prematurely with cerebral palsy. Rosie's condition and the care she needed put the family in bad financial shape with mounting debt, and their health insurance company refused to work with them. A dispute with this same company all but drained the family's bank account, which led them to scrap it altogether and take matters into their own hands.

"There's got to be some way people can live with security and not have to go to bed at night worrying about what might happen and how they could lose their farm or lose their small business because of the ever-growing cost of health care," stated Bob Bernt to Harvest Public Media about the situation. "It left us in a really bad way. We were unable to purchase any food -- nothing. And that's when we walked away from (insurance)."

But like millions of other hard-working Americans, Bernt has no faith in either the existing insurance system or Obamacare fixing the problem. Both systems are inherently corrupt in their own ways, and neither is a good fit for the Bernts. In fact, Obamacare will only make things worse for the family, as it will "tax" them $95 per adult the first year, up to $285 or 1 percent of their income, whichever is higher.

Nearly 60 percent of rural Nebraskans think Obamacare is garbage

The Bernts are hardly alone in their reasoned opposition to Obamacare. A recent poll conducted by the University of Nebraska found that almost 60 percent of Nebraska's rural residents recognize that Obamacare will not lower healthcare costs, while nearly 50 percent are aware of the fact that they will be worse off once the individual mandate comes into full effect.

So what will these folks choose instead? If they are anything like the Bernts, they will continue to eat healthy, stay active and rely on common sense to build and maintain strong immunity within their family. For everything else, including emergency medical care, they will simply save what they can for a rainy day.

"Bernt believes the way for the government to reduce health care costs is to promote healthier diets and lifestyles rather than promote more health insurance," explains the Nebraska Rural Health Association.

Sources for this article include:

http://harvestpublicmedia.org

http://www.offthegridnews.com

http://www.cbsnews.com