My Farrier's Health Insurance Dilemma

My farrier was out to trim my horse's feet on Wednesday, and after he was done I spent about an hour chatting with him. He recently lost his wife, and aside from the obvious emotional difficulties, this presents him with a new challenge: Since he is self-employed, her job provided him with health insurance.

Now that he doesn't have her benefits to rely on any longer, he is trying to find individual health insurance in Florida, and it hasn't been easy. Apparently, the nature of his business — working with horses — makes him high risk, so he's had a hard time finding an individual health plan that is reasonably priced.

Now, my farrier is an older guy, so I don't think it'll be very long before he qualifies for Florida Medicare, but until then he still needs coverage. Eventually he managed to find a company that specialized in insuring people who work in the farm industry. It's still expensive, but it's much more affordable than any of his other options.

If you are self-employed and you are having a hard time finding health insurance, you might check insurance companies who advertise that they specialize in your industry. In addition, unions and other organizations may offer group healthcare plans for members. It's important to obtain health insurance on your own if you are self-employed, so if you can't get it via a spouse or domestic partner, be sure to explore all your options to see what is available to you.