LINC research demonstrates that artists as a population tend toward non-traditional models of employment, a situation which leaves them vulnerable to the flaws of the health care system. Though they are insured at similar rates as the general population, artists tend to be more sporadically insured than other independent workers. The National Health Insurance for Artists Initiative is LINC’s effort to improve the health and welfare of working artists and their families by addressing the 3 biggest challenges to adequate health care:

Quality
Our WAHIP study found that the percent of artists with insurance is very similar to standard workforce levels.However, health insurance coverage does not guarantee healthier people. A recent RAND study found that families with annual incomes over $50,000 had health quality scores that were just 3.5 percentage points higher than families with incomes less than $15,000.

The authors found that insurance status had no real effect on quality, and that insurance “is not sufficient to assure appropriate use of services” (Published March 16, 2006, New England Journal of Medicine). To improve quality, we need to educate artists both about healthy living and how to appropriately access the health care system.

Access
The most often cited reason for an inability to access health care is a lack of health insurance. However, for minority communities and people living in inner city areas, physically accessing health services can prove to be a difficult challenge as well. Even if one has means to pay for services, language barriers, cultural differences, and discrimination can dramatically impact access. People in rural areas also face access challenges; living in a remote location can limit number of options available, and the distance people may have to travel substantial distances to receive even the most basic services.

Affordability
Unabated, the number of people without health insurance increasing, and the cost of health care rising. In 2003, the U.S. spent nearly $1.7 trillion – 15% of the Gross Domestic Product -- on healthcare. The U.S. spent more on health care than on food, housing, or national defense. By 2012, healthcare costs are expected to almost double to nearly $3.1 trillion or 18% of GDP (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The simple fact of the matter is: millions of Americans cannot afford adequate health care.

LINC is improving the Quality, Access, and Affordability of health care for artists through the following approaches:

2. Educating artists and arts administrators on health insurance issues, and enabling them to Advocate on their own behalf.

3. Fund the efforts of local organizations to find health care solutions for the artist populations they serve.

4. Develop a national information sharing strategy to educate artists around health care options and issues that affect their welfare and that of their families.

To learn more, please click on any of these approaches, the navigation bar to your left, or the map below.