NANCY PELOSI SUPPORTS MUSICIANS HEALTH CARE

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this week that thanks to the new health-care reform law, musicians and other creative types could quit their jobs and focus on developing their talents because taxpayers would fund their health care coverage.

FROM SMNNEWS.COM:

• Good news being, “hey, I work a dead end job but can play Dragonforce solos with my balls, this is a fantastic opportunity!”.
• Bad news being, “hey, I work an 80 hour week, why should I fund a bunch of douchebag hippies attempting to play the bongos?”
• FROM ITP EDITORS NOTE: ALL AMERICANS should have health care (universal) regardless of employment (or not). Record labels should provide health care for their own artists. It's not realistic to quit your day job to be a musician, as musicians often take paid vacation time off work to tour until their band or project is profitable enough to be their primary source of income, (if ever) specifically in the indie scene, and underground metal genres as royalty rates are low, and advances are recoupable against royalties (until a band or project recoups from their label they won't see a penny, as most band profits will come from touring and merchandise) until a band at least breaks even, primarily via touring. Otherwise, I'm all for musicians health care, as long as this health care bill includes musicians whom tour internationally. What if a musician falls ill or is injured while on tour and are out of the country? Hopefully, all doctors will take the musicians insurance instead of pulling the capitalist ploy of, "American Express?" as I also wonder if musicians have to "pay in" for the health insurance.
  
• Another suggestion for those whom are on Medicaid and Medicare, as ALL doctors should take these insurance plans regardless of a patients economic status as lot of Dr's don't take Medicaid because they make more money from other insurance carriers.
  
• The good news about this health care reform: Still, this legislation should help ameliorate some of the most persistent problems with the for-profit insurance system: denial of coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and the risk of being dropped from coverage after getting sick. (YEEEES!) FROM FUTURE OF MUSIC COALITION:
  

If you're a Billboard reader, you may have already seen this Op-Ed by FMC's Alex Maiolo about how the passage of health care reform legislation may impact musicians.

Alex is the program officer for FMC's Health Insurance Navigation Tool (HINT), which provides free information to musicians curious about their health insurance options. HINT doesn't sell insurance, but it does help demystify a complex topic. Artists can sign up via the HINT website to receive a free phone consultation where they can go over their situation on a case-by-case, state-by state basis with one of our experts (who also happen to be musicians).

FMC has been on top of this issue for the better part of a decade. In 2002, we released a study showing that, out of 2,700 musicians surveyed, 44 percent did not have health insurance — three times the national average. Now that the president has signed health care reform into law, it's even more important to have good data so we can observe outcomes for artists. FMC is currently running a followup survey to get more up-to-date stats. If you're a musician, we'd love it if you took a mere ten minutes (or less!) to answer a few easy questions. Deadline is April 7, so don't dawdle!

The Billboard Op-Ed looks at specific aspects of the bill to see which provisions are likely to have the most impact on musicians. While Alex praises the parts that may improve the situation for artists, he also notes that our work has really just begun. Now that this historic legislation has passed, it's crucial that everyone in the music community pay close attention to make sure that insurance is more available and affordable for musicians.
Artists and creators must recognize how much they, like other Americans, have at stake. Even as we recognize the historic accomplishment of sweeping health care reform, we must keep a close eye on what's working and where there's room for improvement.
Check out the full piece here.

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What U.S. Health Care Reform Means For Working Musicians

Alex Maiolo

There's already been a lot of talk about what the passage of health-care-reform legislation will mean for "real Americans," a demographic whose mythical stature is matched only by their ability to inspire talking points.

But what does it mean for "real musicians"—namely, those artists and songwriters trying to make a living in a time of unprecedented economic challenge?

Before we consider the potential impact of the health-care-reform bill, we should look at the facts. A 2002 Future of Music Coalition survey found that 44% of the 2,700 musicians surveyed didn't have health insurance—almost three times the national average. With the economy in a protracted downturn, there's good reason to believe that these figures haven't improved.

There's much to commend in the historic bill that President Barack Obama signed March 23. That doesn't mean it's perfect. It's not a single-payer system that would cover the medical expenses of every American. And there isn't a "government option" that would provide security outside of the private-insurance nexus.

Still, the legislation could improve conditions for musicians, who, as part-time or contract employees, often have difficulty securing consistent coverage. Aspects worth applauding include a clause that lets individuals stay on their parents' plans until the age of 26. Many insurance plans cease coverage for dependents when they turn 19 or finish college. This is good news for artists at prime touring age, whose van-driven vocation poses very real hazards.

Additionally, there's a catastrophic-coverage option for the young, which kicks in in 2014. That makes sense for musicians who may only require this kind of plan. And the small-business tax benefit currently under discussion could conceivably benefit incorporated bands.

With the passage of reform, insurance companies can only deny fraudulent claims. They will also be prevented from dropping people when they get sick.

Most important, insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. This policy will be a part of the state-run "insurance exchanges"—set to be implemented in 2014—that will let individuals and small businesses select from a range of supposedly affordable coverage options. Until then, qualifying individuals who have trouble getting insurance could obtain coverage through a temporary plan that would eventually be replaced by a plan they find through an exchange.

These stipulations could benefit musicians who may have otherwise been prevented from vigorously pursuing their careers due to insurance restrictions.

By 2014, most Americans will be required to carry insurance or risk paying fines. Some would argue that this represents an intrusion of government into people's individual decision-making. This is a valid point, but one that doesn't take into consideration the need to balance risk with nonexclusionary coverage.

What's more debatable is whether an insurance exchange (with tax credits for incomes up to 400% of the poverty line) will be as effective as a government option in terms of providing access to coverage for low-wage earners. Musicians may not be able to obtain employer-based insurance, and their incomes tend to fluctuate. This is the part of the bill where our community should be paying close attention to outcomes.

It would be naïve to think that the passage of health care reform will have an impact on the situation for musicians overnight. Still, this legislation should help ameliorate some of the most persistent problems with the for-profit insurance system: denial of coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and the risk of being dropped from coverage after getting sick.

I'm an active musician myself. And, as a partner at an independent insurance agency, I am familiar with the overall landscape and have been a longtime critic of the health insurance industry. For the better part of the last decade, I've counseled musicians on their health insurance options on behalf of the Future of Music Coalition, while personally advocating for reform that would make insurance more affordable and accessible to my peers.

I know firsthand that many working artists agree on the need for reform. But the endless back-and-forth about "death panels" and deficits doesn't exactly make for cheery post-show conversation. The protracted debate about health care reform has been highly contentious, and you can hardly blame musicians for tuning out.

But artists and creators must recognize how much they, like other Americans, have at stake. Even as we recognize the historic accomplishment of sweeping health care reform, we must keep a close eye on what's working and where there's room for improvement.

The health of the entire music ecosystem depends on the well-being of its musicians. We should all be ready to take its pulse. ••••

Alex Maiolo is project coordinator for the Future of Music Coalition's Health Insurance Navigation Tool, which provides free consultations to musicians about their health insurance options. In addition to playing with the bands Violet Vector & the Lovely Lovelies and Hi-Fi Sky, Maiolo is a partner with an insurance agency in the Carrboro/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina.

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-