Welcome to the Healthcare for Artists, an artist run website. This site is a collaboration with the Artists Foundation. The Foundation has a 35 year history of working on artists' health care issues. This free site is for individual artists working in all disciplines to aid them in navigating the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law, its requirements and programs, and the existing available health care options. This site is a resource for finding health care providers, health care resources and information, and health care advocacy organizations. Important proposed health care legislation is posted on this site. There is a glossary and key terms section for you to reference. This site also hosts a guide for Health Care Organizations and Advocacy Groups enrolling artists working in all disciplines into the Health Care Reform's options and existing health care options.
We are using a broad and inclusive definition of artists working in all disciplines. It encompasses: visual artists, musicians, composers, writers, poets, playwrights, new media artists, film makers, crafts people, actors, singers, performance artists, graphic designers, lighting designers, dancers, choreographers, and the like. Individual artists are the foundation that makes our society and the creative economy thrive and grow. Without the individual artists there would be no art of any kind to present and experience. It is that simple.
We urge you to join the free list serve on this site. The Health Care Reform Law, its requirements and programs, is a work in progress. This list serve will update you on new key developments, action needed to be taken, important health care legislation, public hearings and meetings, and more. (Note this list serve is only for health care related information and is different from the Artists Foundation's free listserve- we urge you to join both!) We highly encourage you to also visit our "sister site": www.artstsunderthedome.org
The information on this website should not be used as a replacement for talking to an enrollment specialist and/or a staff person at a designated state agency or a designated advocacy organization. It is only meant to act as preparatory information and is not meant to be legal and/or tax advise. If you have questions after reviewing the information provided on this site, it is best to call an enrollment specialist or a staff person at a designated state agency or advocacy organization. All information on this site may be reproduced for educational purposes with permission from Healthcare for Artists. No permission is needed for it to be downloaded/printed out for individual use.
Please help to spread the word about this site to other Massachusetts artists!
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CALLING ALL MASSACHUSETTS ARTISTS WORKING IN ALL DISCIPLINES STAND UP AND BE COUNTED
The Artists Foundation has collaborated to create on-line tool, Stand Up and Be Counted, to better determine how many artists of all disciplines are living and creating in Massachusetts. Your answers will also help us and others to better advocate for our population. Go to the OnLine Questionnaire. Help us make the invisible- VISIBLE!!
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This is an artist run web site. Thank you to the following: Liz Nofziger (www.nofzilla.com) for the incredible web site design, Kathleen Bitetti for content generation & upkeep (www.theprincessproject.com), Ean White (www.incendiaryarts.com) for hosting the site & administering the list serve, and to Stu Sherman (www.StuSherman.com) for his legal & health care policy guidance.
Special thanks to Sophia Solar Michalski for providing the full funding for this site and its promotional materials.
This site was last updated 8/22/08.