Super glue and animal antibiotics are in the medicine cabinets of many farmers and ranchers in Texas — tools of the trade they sometimes use on themselves to avoid a trip to the doctor. It’s not that they have anything against physicians. It’s because they either lack health insurance or their coverage is so limited that a doctor visit could saddle them with a hefty bill.
To gain health insurance, some farmers and ranchers take a second job off the land with an employer that offers group coverage. Or, their spouses work full time to get health insurance for the family, such as at a local school district or municipality. Dr. Doug Curran, a physician in Athens, Texas, said the low reimbursement rates are stark compared with private plans.
Some farmers and ranchers I spoke with don’t bother with a doctor anymore, not even for medication. Instead, they use antibiotics made for livestock they buy from a veterinarian or feed store. This workaround became more difficult in June 2023, when thetightened access to antibiotics in an effort to combat bacterial resistance; some of these drugs had long been available over the counter. A veterinarian’s prescription is now required.
“I can’t afford to have my knee done. If I hit the lottery and win millions of dollars, I might consider going to get it done before then,” he said. “Mama finally got it stopped when it got up out of here,” she said, pointing to the scars on her upper arm. She wasn’t rushed to the hospital. “You didn’t do that. You just took your meat and pushed it down.”
“It’s bred in you,” Robin said. “It’s just something that gives me pleasure that I can keep dad’s livelihood going. The cost is big — a lot of times you don’t break even, but, you know, it is what it is.” “You can trade out some stuff — doesn’t have to be exactly equal value — and you can just figure out what’s fair and give them some help,” said Dr. Robert L. Hogue, who lives in Brownwood.
The ambulance may not arrive.The majority of rural Texans live in so-called ambulance deserts, where they have to wait more than 25 minutes for an emergency medical team to arrive, according to a 2023 nationalIn many parts of Texas, the ambulance service is staffed, at least in part, by unpaid volunteers, Knudson said. So response times depend on the availability of those volunteers, and funding is limited.