The History of the Artists Foundation's Involvement in Health Care (updated 12/5/07) * indicates updates

The Artists Foundation (AF) has a long history of involvement in artists health care issues and has been one of the leading organizations state-wide and nationally on artists' health care issues. The Foundation, established in 1973, is an artist run organization and working artists comprise the majority of our board and advisory board. Artists are included as chief planners in our programs, services, and policies. Several of our current board members and advisory board members are experts in health care policy and are actively working on the current health care issues facing artists in the Commonwealth.

The AF's executive director, board members, and advisory board members have been actively attending, monitoring, and testifying at public hearings and meetings on the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law. The AF has been working with artists to gather written testimony and to help them present their spoken testimony at public hearings to help to ensure that artists are not hurt by the Health Care Reform law. (Special thanks to the following artists: Hannah Barrett, Laurel Sparks, Linda Price-Sneddon, Robert Davies, Bruce Myren, Chris Nau, and others who took the time to testify in person and/or in written format).

We will do our best to keep you informed on new developments via this website and via this site's list serve.

Timeline of some of the AF's recently activities in Artists' Health Care issues:

• In 1993, the AF was a co-founder of the Artists Health Care Task Force and issued a 1994 report to Congress on artists health care issues.

• Also of note is that in 1994 the AF was a cofounder of Visual AIDS Boston - a resource for artist living with HIV/AIDS and many of those resource are also applicable to artists living with other chronic and life threatening diseases.

• In the mid 1990's the AF established a long term collaboration with Health Care for All.

• Also in the late 1990's the AF established a long term collaboration with the South Boston Community Health Center to enroll artists into their programs and services.

• In 2000 the AF launched our new website that contains important health care resources for artists.

• In 2005 the AF established an ongoing collaboration with the Insurance Partnership, and also testified at the People Forum on Health Care.

• The AF established ties with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) via an AF board member who is a prominent and active member of the (GBIO). The GBIO is key group working on affordability issues in regard to the health reform law implementation.

• In 2006 the AF officially joined the ACT II Coalition. (aka Affordable Care Today Coalition) and is a member of all of its working groups.

• In January 2007 the AF was a cofounder of and was a member of the Arts Health Care Coalition until April 2007.

• The AF, in January 2007, is also a cofounder of and a member of the Artists Health Care Working Group. 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, and 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.*

• In January 2007, the AF helped to launch www.HealthcareforArtists.org an artist run website specifically for artists working in all disciplines and for health care organizations working with this population. It is a key communications/outreach component of the Artists Health Care Working Group.

• In Spring 2007, the AF worked hard with Artists from across the State to help change a key regulation in the MA Health Care Reform Law:

On June 5th, 2007 the Connector Board voted unanimously to change the definition of Gross Income to Adjusted Gross Income contained in the Regulations "Determining Affordability for the Individual Mandate [956 CMR 6.00]" These are the regulations that the MA Department of Revenue will use to determine if someone is exempt from the individual mandate - the mandate that requires people to have health insurance. The Connector Authority Staff (this included Executive Director Jon Kingsdale, Jamie Katz Chief Counsel and other key connector staff) recommended the change to the board. This was a key important change that not only impacts artists, the self-employed and those with combination sources of income in this state, but it has national implications as the entire country is watching our state as the model to replicate. Connector Staff mentioned at the June 5th Connector Meeting that at all three of the hearings it was made clear by those testifying that Adjusted Gross Income was the fair and equitable way to measure income for the individual mandate. One Connector Board Member, Celia Wcislo, who was at all three of the public hearings, made the case of the need to switch to Adjusted Gross Income for the Individual Mandate to another board member by saying "that artists had real businesses expenses- i.e. brushes, paint, studio space, that were not counted in Gross Income" .

• May- November 2007, the AF held 30 Town meetings across the State. One of the key agenda items was the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law - its requirements and options.

• November 8, 2007, the AF was a collaborator for the First Annual Artists Under the Dome Event at the Massachusetts State House. One key topics covered was the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law and its impact on Massachusetts Artists of all Disciplines.*