Artists Health Care Task Force Program

The AF has 35 five year history of working on artists' health care issues and this work falls under our Artists Health Care Task Force Program. The mission of the Artists Health Care Task Force Program is to advocate for affordable and accessible health care for artists of all disciplines. Under our Artists Health Care Task Force Program umbrella, the AF informs medical institutions/health care providers and health care advocacy groups on ways to address the health care needs of artists. Our goal is to create models that can be implemented city-wide, state-wide and hopefully nationally. It is the goal of the Artists Health Care Task Force Program is to critically address the health care needs of artists of all disciplines- one of our national assets. In facilitating this crossover among collaborators, the AF creates a ground breaking network with the ability to address issues of mutual interest to the artists community, the private sector, and the public.

The Artists Foundation, under this program's umbrella, is monitoring and advocating on the Massachusetts Health Care Reform. As part of these efforts, the AF helped to launched in January 2007 an artists run web site: www.healthcareforartists.org It is a site for artists in all disciplines to aid them in navigating the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law and it is also a site to help health care providers enroll artists into health care reform options.

The AF is also a cofounder of and a member of the Artists Health Care Working Group (also established in Jan 07). The working group formed in an effort to track, monitor, and better serve the artists community in regard to the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law. The group strategizes to assist artists with access to health care, maintenance of health care, reduction of medical debt, and related matters. Members are the AF, Health Law Advocates, the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts, the Access Project, Health Care for All's Help Line, the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, the Insurance Partnership, the Massachusetts Hospitals Association, and the four Commonwealth Care health plans: Boston Medical Center Health Net Plan, Neighborhood Health Plan, Network Health, and Fallon Community Health Plan. The working group meets monthly.

History of The Artists Health Care Task Force Program

There has been a national movement to integrate the arts into all aspects of health care facilities and their programming. The goal is to create an overall/total "healing environment" and to "humanize" health care facilities. Artists working in all disciplines have played a critical role in developing, creating and sustaining the "healing environments" in these facilities and in their programs. But in the noble efforts to create a "healing environment", many of the health care providers have over looked the fact that a large number of artists who provide the vision, skill and labor for transforming their institutions and our society, do not have access to affordable and adequate health care.

In response to this issue, the Artists Foundation co-founded the The Artists Health Care Task Force in December 1993 with The Boston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Boston Health Care for the Homeless. National studies have shown that 30% of artists living in big cities are without health coverage and 43% of insured artists are at risk of losing their insurance. The Artists Health Care Task Force used Boston as a model to document the problem. The Task Force held a series of public forums in the spring of 1994 to gather testimony from artists on health care reform. The Task Force's findings and artists' testimonies were published in a report to the National Congress in July of 1994. It was the Task Force's intention not only to inform Congress of artists' health care needs, but to also help make health care in Boston, one of the top medical centers in the country with one of the highest concentrations of hospitals/ medical facilities, accessible and affordable to the artists who work and live in the city.

The Artists Foundation is continuing the work of the original Artists Health Care Task force under our Artists Health Care Task Force Program. The mission of the Artists Health Care Task Force Program is to advocate for affordable and accessible health care for artists of all disciplines. The need for such a program was clearly stated in each of the testimonies by area artists in the original Task Force's Report to Congress in 1994. The Artists Health Care Task Force Program is continuing to work on ways to target and provide health services for artists of all disciplines.

Other Current Endeavors

The Artists Foundation is currently collaborating with South Boston Community Health Center (SBCHC) in a pilot project to enroll artists into the Boston Healt Net, Mass Health and the sliding scales program at the health center. SBCHC created a specific form to be used by those artists who are self employed or do not have regular pays stubs to assess their income.

The Artists Foundation is collaborating with Massachusetts' Health Care for All and the Insurance Partnership on issues of the uninsured and underinsured. The Artists Foundation is an active member of the ACT II Coalition and is very active in advocating for artists' needs in the Massachusetts Health Care Reform implementation.

Long Term Goals of the Task Force Program:

(1)	to enroll artists who are eligible into MassHealth programs, and other health care options created by the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law. (Occurring)
(2)	to create a comprehensive "on line" resource of health care options available for uninsured, underinsured artists, and health care coverage options for small non profits (Done: www.healthcareforartists.org)
(3)	to create an "on line" resource for information on artists' occupational health hazards. (Done)
(4)	to conduct a statewide survey of artists health care needs- STAND UP & BE COUNTED. (Occurring)
(5)	to continue to work on artist's health care issues on a local, state, and national level. (Ongoing)

(For Artists of all Disciplines living with HIV/AIDS see our section: http://www.artistsfoundation.org/art_pages/programs/programs_vab.htm)

Healthcare Task Force Report

 

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