By Marlee Jackson
(334) 613-4219

Blake and Savanna Carroll are steadily accomplishing goals on their to-do list. 

Graduate from Auburn University. Check. 

Begin building their first home. Check. 

Get married March 29. Check.

“My dream is to have her come back to the farm and us to be able to raise our family here and work together,” said Blake, 23, who farms with his family outside Ariton in Dale County.

One unexpected barrier to fulfilling that is an essential budget item — health care.

Legally, Blake and Savanna, 22, could stay on their parents’ insurance plans till age 26. However, future hopes to grow their family and farm have the Carrolls researching health coverage options sooner rather than later.

For now, they agree their best option is coverage through Savanna’s job at her family’s trucking company. It’s still alarmingly expensive, she said.

 “For me and Blake just starting out, (health care) would be $220 a week,” Savanna said.

That adds up to $11,440 a year.

“That’s a fourth of my paycheck,” Savanna added.

Hope on the Horizon

Relief could be in sight for families like the Carrolls. Legislation currently moving through the Alabama Legislature would authorize the Alabama Farmers Federation to offer its members an affordable health care option.

Alfa Health Plans, modeled after successful Farm Bureau Health Plans in 10 states, could save families 30-60% on health coverage — a financial lifeline for farm families and small-business owners who don’t always qualify for federal subsidies and pay hefty rates for health care.

“We’re really hopeful Alfa Health Plans gets passed,” Blake said. “If it does and can cut down even 30% of our coverage bill, that’s huge. That frees up money for us to build our family, build a house or put back into our meat business.”

HB 477 by Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, passed the House 98-1 April 10. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it’s expected to be in committee April 16. Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, sponsored the companion legislation. 

Momentum for Alfa Health Plans has picked up deeper into the legislative session, thanks in part to dozens of farmers who put boots on the ground in Montgomery the last two weeks. Their in-person visits with legislators, plus countless phone calls, focused on a simple ask: Pass Alfa Health Plans legislation.

Blake’s parents, Chris and Monica, were part of that crowd and represented the newlyweds, who were on their honeymoon.

Planning for Tomorrow

While their next stage of life is just starting, Blake and Savanna said they know building a strong foundation for their future starts today. Part of that means growing the farm.

Partnered with his sister, Brittany Gulledge, and her husband (also named Blake), Blake and Savanna are expanding into a new market with 4C Meats, a pasture-to-plate beef operation.

That dream grew from a handful of seeds — consumer demand spiked by the COVID-19 pandemic, a meat science class Blake took at Auburn and their need to bring another revenue stream to the farm, which already includes stocker cattle, poultry and row crops.

Enter Savanna.

Her bubbly personality and passion for agriculture make her the ideal candidate to build a consumer base and market their product. 

“We could hire somebody else to do it, but that’s more money coming out of our pocket,” Blake said. “They might not necessarily have the same level of care as she or I do because it’s ours, and it’s something we care deeply about and want to succeed. We have to make it succeed.”

Long-term, that requires Savanna leaving her job — and finding another, more affordable option for health care. They’re hopeful Alfa Health Plans will soon help solve their health care conundrum.

“It’s not just me and Blake,” Savanna said. “There are so many couples out there who need Alfa Health Plans. We’ve got a lot going on just starting out, and this would be a huge help for us. These plans could be life changing.”