Posted by Seth Burgess on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 @ 02:42 PM
Horse industry employers often say they would love to provide health benefits for the jobs with horses, but they just can't afford it. Traditional health insurance is getting more expensive all the time, and it is beyond the reach of many equine industry employers, especially employers with a large staff. On the other hand, nothing means more for horse industry employees than employer provided health benefits. Health benefits even rank ahead of salary.
The good news is that there are all sorts of plans out there, some of which are quite inexpensive. One type of Accident Plan (underwritten by The Hartford Companies, A+ rated) covers an individual or everyone in a family, per person, per any accidental incident on or off the job, up to $5,000 for $19.95 per month. Medical Savings accounts are another way to provide great benefits at a reasonable cost. Even for the more expensive plans, you can split the cost with your employees according to any formula you want.
For a detailed discussion of the options, view this article by Heather Gentry. Employers want their staff to be healthy and on the job as much as possible. Workers want to feel that their employers care about them and will at least share the cost of health benefits. Employers and workers alike should be educated on the options available.