Health insurance can be a significant expense for self-employed farm and ranch families, and a recent Agweek article looks at how rising premiums, high deductibles and prescription costs are affecting rural households.

Agweek spoke with a farmer in Winona County, Minnesota, who estimates his family’s share of health insurance premiums could increase by nearly $5,000 a year if current federal assistance remains in place. The family already has a $16,000 deductible. For 2027, Minnesota Department of Commerce data show average individual-market rate increases by insurers ranging from 10% to 21.1%.

The challenges extend beyond Minnesota. A September 2025 U.S. Census Bureau study found that 29.4% of workers in farming, fishing and forestry occupations lacked health insurance in 2024, compared with 11% of the overall population ages 19 to 64.

Federal Medicaid cuts are set to hit hospitals next year. The National Rural Health Association says rural residents are enrolled in Medicaid at higher rates than their urban counterparts in most states. Agweek also highlights the effect of prescription drug costs and how access to health insurance can factor into employment and financial decisions for farm families. For many farm and ranch families, that means working off-farm jobs just to keep coverage, while others are facing the hard choice of which farm insurance policy to drop.

Read the full story in Agweek.