HINT: The Health Insurance Navigation Tool

Are you a musician? Do you need advice or information about health insurance?

You're not alone. A 2001 FMC survey of 2,700 musicians revealed that the complicated process of obtaining health insurance overwhelmed many of them.

FMC has teamed up with Alex Maiolo and Chris Stephenson to create HINT – the Health Insurance Navigation Tool. The goal of this project is to provide informed, musician-friendly support and advice to curious musicians who need information about health insurance, for free.

Click here to download a print-ready, one-page information sheet about HINT (PDF).

Here's some website and blog-ready banners and audio PSAs that you can use to help spread the word about HINT.

Interview with HINT consultant Alex Maiolo about HINT
(July 2007):

How to Get Advice

HINT appointments are currently available Monday through Thursday, 7 PM – 8:30 PM Eastern time. Appointments are 30 minutes long.

Click here to request an appointment. After filling out this form and answering a few questions, your request will be emailed to our HINT team and they will confirm the date and time with you.

All calls are confidential. FMC will collect summary data on the insurance needs of musicians so that we will better understand how to effectively work towards providing health insurance for artists in the future.

AR N ABO UT HINT

There are two parts to the HINT project:

Articles that give an overview of the options available for musicians.
Free telephone advice service where you can talk to an insurance expert about your situation to understand your options. Click here to make an appointment.

ARTICLES

Health Insurance Overview
If you don't know where to begin, then start with this overview of the seven ways you could obtain health insurance including employer-based plans, individual plans, state-funded initiatives, benefits offered by music unions, each with links to further information.

Health Insurance Is A Bad Deal, Until You Get Sick
The majority of Americans who have health insurance get it through their employer. But what it if you leave that company to pursue your musical dream? What it you don't have a job that offers benefits? A quick look at the simple economics will probably lead you to decide that health insurance seems like an unaffordable luxury. But we urge you to think again. There are ways to engage in the health insurance system that ensure that you have coverage when you need it most, without breaking the bank.

Health Savings Accounts
A Health Savings Account – HSA – is a relatively new financial strategy that allows the insured person to save money in a tax-free account that can be used to pay for future health costs. Can musicians and creators use this new tool to their advantage?

Best Practices
An area where we're collecting information about companies or organizations that are offering health insurance, either through tradiitonal group plans or through novel ideas, that offer the flexibility that musicians need.

Glossary of Terms
Half the battle in understanding health insurance is figuring out the lingo and keeping all the terms straight. Here's a glossary with the most-used terms, also posted on each article page.

Resources
Reports and organizations working on comprehensive health care reform.

We see this project as a safety net for those musicians who remain uninsured because of lack of support or clear information. Those musicians who reach out for help will get it. With this small step we hope to bridge the gap between confusion and need.

HINT is made possible by a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

Support HINT

Two Raleigh concerts in memory of musician Drew Glackin; proceeds go to Glackin’s family and Future of Music Coalition’s Health Insurance Navigation Tool

Local music heroes Tres Chicas, Patty Hurst Shifter, Kenny Roby, Chip Robinson & Heavy Beat Outfit, Port Huron Statement, The Silos, BJ Barham, Tandy, Chris Mills, Glory Fountain, Quarry Hill, Joe Swank & the Zen Pirates, Lou Ford and The Cartridge Family will pay musical tribute to talented multi-instrumentalist Drew Glackin. The concerts take place at The Pour House Music Hall on Saturday, May 3, and Sadlack’s Heroes on Sunday, May 4, both in Raleigh, NC

Press release | Donate

Disclaimer: Future of Music Coalition provides basic health insurance information to answer your basic health insurance option questions. Insurance is regulated on a federal basis and by each state, and each insurance carrier rules and policy terms may differ from state to state and between individuals. Therefore, you acknowledge and agree that any insurance-related information provided by or through the Website is general information only, and may not apply to your particular situation. FMC does not endorse any insurance carrier, product, or policy and is not responsible or liable for any information provided on the website, by a HINT representative or other resource. FMC shall not be responsible for any injury, loss, or damage which occurs as a result of any statements, advice or information provided in or through the HINT program, or for the reliability or accuracy of same. In addition, any user of the HINT program who chooses to make any personally identifiable information or other information publicly available to a HINT representative or otherwise does so at his or her own risk. Such disclosures are expressly excluded from the terms of our Privacy Policy. For more information see our terms of service.

RESOURCES

Fractured Atlas is a nonprofit service organization for artists and creators. One of the benefits they offer their members is access to group health insurance. Visit the website and select your state from the menu to see the state-specific insurance options. Membership in the organization is $75 annual for an individual, but there are also affordable group rates starting at $150.

AHIRC: The Artists’ Health Insurance Resource Center is an online database created by the Actors’ Fund with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Data is organized by state and includes information about resources in each state for artists, and lists of insurers of all kinds. Access to this data is free.

Health Alliance for Austin Musicians If you are an uninsured, professional musician in the Austin, TX area, you may be eligible for low-cost primary health care services, basic dental care and mental health counseling provided by HAAM.

SIMS Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides access to low-cost mental health services for Austin, TX musicians and their immediate families.

Texas Music Office is a state-funded business promotion and information clearinghouse for the musicians of Texas. The insurance page provides a detailed list of health insurance options for residents of Texas.

Rock and Rap Confidential's Music and Healthcare Guide A detailed list of resources for musicians seeking insurance or health care.

A Consumer Guide for Getting and Keeping Health Insurance Created by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, this website provides legal information about your rights as a health insurance consumer for each state. Updated regularly.

eHealthinsurance.com A for-profit broker that consolidates information about plans and premiums on their website.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation produces many reports on health insurance coverage and policies in America and sponsors the Cover the Uninsured Week campaign which includes a database of state-specific health insurance resources and resources for individuals.

Kaiser Family Foundation Includes statistics on who purchases individual health insurance, average premiums, and a handbook on options for individuals.

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