The Farmers' Health Cooperative of Wisconsin is announced that its growing membership will now have access to the Mayo Health System network of clinics, hospitals and health care providers. The Farmers' Health Cooperative was formed by the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives in April 2007 and its member cooperatives to provide affordable, quality healthcare to Wisconsin agricultural producers and agri-businesses.

The Farmers' Health Cooperative is the first of its kind in the nation to bring farmers and agribusinesses together to buy health insurance coverage as a large group. Jeff Bennesch, a dairy farmer from Colfax who also chairs the Farmers' Health Co-op Board of Directors, said the addition of the Mayo Health system was great news for all members but especially those living in Western Wisconsin.

"The Mayo Clinic leads the nation in cutting-edge, specialized health care. This is just another example of how the Farmers' Health Cooperative has helped Wisconsin farmers and agribusinesses gain access to the highest quality health care out there," said Bennesch. Bennesch added that the Mayo Health System is a family of clinics, hospitals and healthcare facilities serving several Western Wisconsin communities and many more in Minnesota and Iowa. Mayo Health System providers are backed by expertise of the Mayo Clinic, one of the nation's leading innovators in specialized medicine and patient care.

Bennesch noted that the inclusion of Mayo means that members of the Farmers' Health Cooperative will be able to receive quality healthcare at their local clinic or hospital and, when needed, can receive highly specialized care at Mayo Clinic.

The Mayo Clinic agreement was brokered by the Farmers' Health Cooperative's insurance company, Aetna, and is the latest in a string of successes for the Farmers' Health Cooperative.

"We launched this program by offering several quality health insurance plans at a great price, then we exceeded our year end enrollment goals in three months, then we kept our renewal rate under 8%," Bennesch said. "Now Aetna has helped us improve our provider network and all before we celebrate our first anniversary."

For more information about the Farmers' Health Cooperative of Wisconsin, visit www.farmershealthcooperative.com or call 1-800-539-9370.