Musicians and Health Care Reform
New York, NY
July 1, 2009
Earlier this month President Obama made a speech to the American Medical Association in Chicago regarding health care reform. The speech renewed the debate over his health care reform package and the topic has stayed near the top of the news cycle for several weeks.
Health care and affordable health insurance is a topic central to the lifestyle of musicians in the U.S., and I want to help start the discussion in our community as well.
In 2004 I was diagnosed with cancer when a large tumor was discovered in my chest. The treatment was 6 month of chemotherapy treatment – one session every other Monday for a total of 12 sessions. Each 4-hour chemo session cost around $25,000.
I remember my initial surgery following the discovery of the tumor. I had researched what the surgery would likely cost and discovered that the surgery room would cost $15,000 for the first 15 minutes, and $8,000 for every 15 minutes thereafter. I remember awaking from the surgery and asking the nurse, “How long was I in there?”
“31 minutes.” She said.
I thought, “$25k? $30k? Do they round up?”
I should have been worried about my health, about the incision 3 inches from my heart, about the chemo port that had been implanted in my chest and connected to my aorta. I should have been asking for my family, or resting. But I was much more concerned about how on earth I was ever going to be able to afford to stay alive.
In the end, cancer cost well over $300,000. Luckily, while I was significantly under-insured, I was not totally uninsured. I had, and still have, a catastrophic health insurance policy from Blue Cross/Blue Shield that covers, among other catastrophes, chemotherapy. It did not, however, cover the 7 doctors involved in my diagnosis, the 31-minute surgery, drugs considered “optional” to the treatment, or any exploratory or preventative care following the end of chemotherapy.
I continued playing piano throughout the ordeal. Music, and working as a musician gave me focus and motivation during the long 6 months of treatments. By the end the drugs slowed my mind and numbed my fingers, but I kept playing. The pride and joy I find in working as a musician informed my fight to live.
Too many great artists in this country spend too much time worrying about what will happen if they break a leg, catch the flu, or develop cancer. Too many creative minds forgo a life in the arts simply because they won’t have health insurance. And when something awful does happen, the health care industry uses it as a business opportunity, recycling their outrageous fees as marketing and branding instead of actual care for human beings.
We have an unprecidented opportunity to change health care in the U.S. right now. Yesterdays judgement by the Minnesota Supreme Court to instate Al Franken as a U.S. Senator gives a majority to that part of congress that seems most sympathetic to health care reform. We have a president that has made health care reform a priority.
The voice of musicians needs to be heard in this debate. The discussion cannot circle entirely around employer-employee dynamics – it must include freelancers and artists as well.
For up-to-date news on health care reform, subscribe to this RSS feed:
Health Reform News
Text link: http://news.google.com/news?um=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=health+reform&output=rss
That is a Google Alert for health reform that will bring you all the most recent news as it happens.
Next, make your voice heard. Do you know who your government representatives are? Find them here:
- President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden – Send questions, comments, concerns, or well-wishes to the President or his staff.
- U.S. Senators – Search for your senators by name, state, or congressional class; and visit their websites.
- U.S. Representatives – Find contact information for your U.S. representative by typing in your zip code.
- State Governors – Select your state to access e-mail, telephone, and postal contact information for your governor.
- State Legislators – Search for state legislators and topical legislative information, by U.S. states and territories.
Call them and start the discussion. It is their job to represent your concerns in our government. If they don’t – make sure they get voted out the next time they are up for election.
Also, you can start this discussion among your friends. You can blog about it, facebook it, tweet it – get it out there.
As I’ve said before, the worst thing that we can do as members of the arts industry is to hide our heads in the sand and hope things turn out right on their own. Historically, support for the arts has often come up against opposition by other interest groups and even representatives themselves. A belief that art is optional, that art education is a luxury, that art funding is superfluous (at best) or immoral (at worst), pressure to block certain art from being made, ineffective copyright law, an emphasis on business and defense spending to the exclusion of “culture spending” – the United States arts industry must always be active in government – if not to be supported as we hope to be, then at least to be left alone.
About the author
Thanks for sharing your story, Dave. I hope a lot of people come read this and realize how much this issue effects people they know, musicians or otherwise.
I think it’s very important to point out that professional musicians are not looking for a handout. We are small business owners. Everyone that works for themselves or operates a small company has to deal with the outrageous cost of health care. The fact is, there are solutions to this problem but the insurance and pharma industries are making too much profit to allow a reasonable debate to take place.
Thank god for doctors that actually care about patients and will treat the under-insured in times of crisis. But a doctor’s practice is also a small business, they shouldn’t have to absorb the cost, and the fact is many of them aren’t being reimbursed by insurance companies for routine or preventative treatments anyway.
The musician community could really do some good here. Time to saddle up.
7/1/2009
I really appreciate your relating this story. I spent a short 3 days in the hospital this time lass year and I remember those days right after my release lying in bed pondering those same questions.
Health care, health insurance, and how independent artists, musicians and others in the industry are affected is a very complicated issue. We are lucky to have a president who is truly concerned about the state of health care in our country. We must make sure our representatives are aware of our special needs.
7/1/2009
Isn’t health insurance available through the performing arts societies, at least one of them?
Wishing you the best.
7/2/2009
Thanks dave, this is a great article! Also, you’re my modern day hero! If i can be half as positive as you about life, I’m going to be doing great:) Would it be possible to throw up another link to the google RSS feed? It doesn’t work when I click to subscribe. maybe it’s the google chrome browser? Thanks again!
7/2/2009
Thanks everyone.
Cam is exactly right – No one is looking for a government handout. We just want someone to sell us, individually, insurance that is reasonably priced that reasonably covers us. Or, make health care less expensive in the first place. Our health shouldn’t be held ransom by corporations.
@KSE – I looked into insurance through performing arts unions, but it’s pretty bleak. NYC has the freelancers union, which is a great thing, but it’s not as useful outside of the city (they have their own network of doctors in and around the tri-state area). The AFM (musician’s union) requires that you be either working a union contract that includes insurance, or that you are vested in the union (which is difficult and takes forever).
@Kt – I’ll add the text version of the link too.
7/2/2009
I agree with the reform part. As of right now, I really don’t agree with how they’re wanting to do it. I’m completely opposed to the nationalisation of our health care system…as it is, there are alot of faults and the pricing is ridiculous, so it’s agreed that some regulation is needed to make a level playing field. That said however, I’ve been an independent musician since the age of 18 and now insure myself as well as my wife and child through the open market…no help from unions, companies, etc. Keeping a high deductible is a big help…we just keep a larger emergency fund. Once we meet the deductible, they pick up 100%…and it also makes me very conscious about going to the doctor. I find myself shopping around, trying to find the best care for an acceptable price. Do I like paying large medical bills? Absolutely not, but I’ve traveled a ton and spoken with lots of people from othe countries and it beats the heck out of what they have.
I also think that it’s important to remember that health insurance isn’t a basic human right, it’s a privilege that we get to have for working hard and running a smart budget. I do agree with you on the exhorbitant pricing for health care, that does have to change, but no one’s entitled to health insurance or coverage…at least that’s my opinion.
7/2/2009
What? Health insurance not a human right?
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25:
“1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
Yes, it may be against liberal-capitalist and free-market ideology, but it was signed by the US in 1948.
7/2/2009
@Agustin…getting to be a good discussion…nowhere in the UDHS did it say that people were entitled to health insurance. They are entitled to medical care and social services…of which we already have programs that are available for folks that need medical care and can’t afford it. However, the UDHR did not state that every American (as well as the world, as this was enacted by the United Nations)was entitled to affordable health insurance. I’m sorry, but in a free market…which the U.S. has always been built on, as well as capitalism (however all capitalists aren’t liberal)…you get what you pay for.
No system is perfect, and ours needs alot of work, but again, compared to other countries it’s the best. At any given time in Canada there are upwards of 900,000 people on a waiting list for medical procedures and hospital admittance. How would you feel about your child being deathly ill and being put on a waiting list? Wouldn’t work for me. That’s socialised medicine in a non”liberal-capitalist society”.
I’m not defending doctors, insurance companies, or any of the likes…but there’s a better answer than completely destroying the system we have.
7/2/2009
@Stephen I respect your viewpoint, but I disagree with your assessment of our health system. Having been intimately tangled in the U.S. health care system, my assessment is that it’s is fubar.
We have incredible facilities, some of the best doctors and nurses in the world, and the best equipment money can buy – I definitely think that’s true. But when it comes to distributing that care to those that need it, and paying for it – the system has become overgrown and inaccessible. So what good is all of our medical firepower if I can’t get any of it?
I don’t see what all the fear is about the health systems in Canada, England, France, etc. I would have much rather had cancer in England than in the states. My doctors did the best they could with me – but as an under-insured patient, they had to send me home with boxes of samples from pharmaceutical reps because I couldn’t afford the $100-a-pill drugs I needed twice a day. I can’t get regular exams or scans to check and see if the cancer is coming back. Does that really sound like the best health care system in the world?
And as far as the waiting system goes, my understanding is that elective surgeries are made to wait so that life-threatening procedures can happen immediately. That’s what my English friends tell me anyway.
I don’t mean to say that the U.S. should adopt the system of any other country, I agree with Obama that we should come up with a uniquely American solution to this problem.
Also, with regards to programs available to folks that can’t afford – I have to disagree with that assessment. If you are referencing public aid, medicaid, medicare – these programs are only accessible to the most underpriviledged few. Working musicians make too much money to access these programs.
Anyway – those programs are handouts, and that’s not what I’m asking for. I don’t want you to pay for my health care – I want to pay for my own health care. I just want someone to allow me to do that.
7/2/2009
Thank you David for such a touching story! I absolutely agree with you that the voice of the musicians need to be heard. And not even just musicians, anyone really, who is trying to leave a dream or do something that is meaning full to them, but may put them into a financial situation where they can’t afford paying for a significant health care plan…. I myself and trying to start a website. But I am also a recent college graduation and a musician, and while I am trying to make ends meet while launching my site, I am finding it exceedingly difficult to pay for health care.
7/2/2009
@Jon…This is the site where I shop my insurance… http://www.zanderins.com …I checked out a plan for a guy your age…around $60 a month with a $5000 dollar deductible: $80 a month if you have a $3000 deductible. The insurance picks up 100% after the deductible is met, which is a decent deal if you ask me. I know this is straying from the above topic, but since I’ve always had to cover myself and my family due to being self employed, I’ve shopped it quite a bit and love to let other musicians know where to find quality insurances at an affordable price.
They also have great quotes on car insurance and term life insurance, I use them for both.
Sorry I strayed from the topic…
7/2/2009
“Everyone has [...] the right to security in the event of [...] sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” (UDHR, Article 25).
Security and insurance are related words.
7/3/2009
Still gonna have to disagree with you on the interpretation of that article. They’re related words, but by no means one in the same, especially when you’re referring to a human being having the “right” to a product (insurance, not healthcare) that’s sold for profit in the open market…and has been since it’s inception. Just because I’m hungry and broke doesn’t mean I have the “right” to eat the best steak that a cow has to offer…it means that I’m entitled to food enough to sustain me. We’re also not entitled to insurance that gives us access to the best hospitals and doctors there are, but we are entitled to some type of healthcare. Again, I agree we need regulation, but nationalisation is not the answer, in my opinion.
But it’s ok to disagree…that’s the great thing about freedom of opinion (Article 19), we can agree to disagree.
7/3/2009
The core of this problem is that health has BECOME a product. Our system does not actually provide good health to all people. Decisions about health are based on profit, not the well being of the patient. Humanity is removed from the equation as much as possible to make those decisions easier. The concept of “pre-existing conditions” is ludicrous. What about compassion?
The health care system works to maintain a status quo so that most people are content. But we’re all getting screwed here. A $5000 deductible? $300 for a prescription? Are you kidding me? How on earth is medical treatment such a scarce resource in 2009? This kind of technology should be created to improve the condition of humanity, not cause us more problems.
7/4/2009
Well said Cam, quality of life, or just LIFE in some cases, should not be a product. Also a good point about supply and demand.
7/4/2009
Besides, it has been well established that wealth is inversely related to poor health. The ones who are paying more for their health insurance are not the ones who are prone to become ill. That’s why solidarity based health systems were developed: the ones who pay more are doing it for the ones who fall ill more, which in turn pay very little. Individualism does not work with health. What would you do in case of an epidemy then?
7/4/2009
To all,
Your stories touch me deeply as I am musician, but I am also a philosopher. Nothing is free in this world, never has been, and never will be. Just because there is some document somewhere stating our rights doesn’t really mean anything, just as this ramble doesn’t mean anything either. But the fact still remains nothing is free.
The trillion dollar debt that the U.S. now has to China is because of the government enacting new retarted political policies as far as bailing out multi billion dollar corporations. Artists should remain pure in their artistry, the arts are not an industry like a steel mill or a clothing industry. The more artists distance themselves from the whole “industry” mindset the happier they will be at heart, and less melancholy. But this is just what i believe. Culture mostly stems out of what people do after work, not totally for work.
7/18/2009
Here is the solution to the whole problem.
Live every day as if it was your last, because one day it will be.
Live healthy, you know how.
Live smartly, you should know how.
Live Lovingly, with others.
Have fun playing music or doing whatever.
And Then you die. That is the way life is intended to be. Do not waste time. Remember what is important to you while maintaining a standard quality that deems your regard.
7/18/2009
@Brian – with all due respect, I disagree.
First off, nobody wants anything for free. I don’t want the U.S. government or the Chinese government or anybody to give me free health insurance. I will buy and pay for my own health insurance. I don’t care who sells it to me, I just want something reasonably affordable that covers pre-existing conditions and preventative care. That is something you cannot find as a cancer survivor because our system is designed for only the wealthy and only the healthy.
Regarding the “live healthy, you know how” – I didn’t get cancer because I wasn’t living healthy. That’s not how cancer works, and the implication makes it clear that you’ve never had that kind of bad luck. I very much hope you never do.
I don’t agree with your hands-off, let-em-die philosophy. You have no idea what kind of suffering goes on in this country at the hands of easily curable diseases, merely because the healthcare industry make it accessible to only those that can pay the extortionate fees.
7/18/2009
Thank you for sharing your story, David. It’s sad that US health care is all about capitalism. People should not be in debt the rest of their lives because of a health setback. Nor should health insurance be based on your employment. Not all employers offer it anymore because it is so expensive, and even then they only offer it to full-time employees, then they only hire part-time workers.
My grandmother recently passed away from cancer (age 91); I’m scared to death of that happening to me one day.
I currently am on the Minnesota health insurance program for low-income people (MinnesotaCare/Ucare). Coverage is actually quite good and has gotten better over the past year or so. It is based on income; you just have to prove your income and re-apply every year. I would like to see something like this implemented nation wide. If I do go out on a cruise ship, I don’t know what would happen when I come back. If you drop it, you have to wait 4 months before you can apply again, and last time it took them 6 months to process my application.
The sooner something gets done, the better.
7/25/2009
I forgot to add, with MinnesotaCare you can only use it within MN and at clinics and specialists that accept it, and any services out of state you need to get approval for. Ideally, if something like this was available at the national level you would be able to get care no matter where you go within the US.
7/25/2009
Great article! This not only applies to musicians but to nearly all self-employed/small business persons.
Here’s a little something for the mix:
Why is it that every other kind of technology decreases in price over time? Think of the price of computers, big screen TVs and video cameras just a short decade ago. The only medical treatments that have decreased in cost are 1)weight-loss surgery and 2)corrective eye surgery. Both advertise for patients and neither are covered under insurance. Perhaps getting rid of insurance all together and making medical care a true capitalistic venture is the answer. If they have to compete for your hard-earned dollars, don’t you think the prices for procedures and care would come down dramatically and become closer to affordable?
Just a thought to ponder…
9/27/2009
Heath care is a right according to the article, but in order to be able to exercise that right you need to pay for it, a lot of money, more money than most people make out of pocket. a friend of mine had to get 3 stitches at the ER, it would have cost 900 dollars if they were uninsured. good health care is an expensive right, and if you can’t get it because you dont have the money or the right occupation than it is a restricted right. it would be like having to buy legal insurance so that you could exercise free speech.
10/11/2009
Funny thing is how some people are afraid of “socialized medicine”. Don’t we already have many social programs and departments?
Welfare
Unemployment
Public Police
Public Firefighters
Public Libraries
National Parks
MEDICARE
Social Security
The list goes on. Whatever people saying it’s a bad thing, it really isn’t. We’re spending billions of dollars on defence and other things and for what? Freedom and Democracy? My ass. (No offense)
Ever since Nixon was introduced with this private insurance plan, it has gone down the drain.
People are afraid of a “government take over” but what I’m more afraid is a corporation take over, where they have taken control of our government, our people, just to gain more profits. Nowadays it’s not important how a hospital treats a patient, it’s whether they can make a profit.
It’s all about the profits. What about the patient (consumer)? That doesn’t matter anymore.
What I like about Great Britain’s and France’s (who happen to have better health care than the U.S.) is that everyone gets treated, doctors actually get paid well, and it’s cheaper than what the U.S. spends. Overall? It’s more efficient.
Now some say there’s waiting lines…yes there are. I have family who go through that but they tell me it’s not as bad as media in the States portrays it to be (mainly payed by lobbyists and insurances to make us believe it’s bad).
I believe we have the best doctors, equipment, facilities and everything to be the #1 in the health world.
Glenn Beck recently said that our system is good and shouldn’t be changed. An example he used was a politician from Australia coming over to get health. Why yes, we do have the best, but what he failed to realize is that it’s an Australian politician, very likely to be wealthy something a great percentage of the American population isn’t.
So why does it matter that we have the best when we can’t even provide basic health care to our citizens that’s affordable?
Now all of a sudden, compassion is the new “socialism”. People need to step up and study political philosophy and ideologies to know what exactly they’re saying, something here in the U.S. educational system we lack. But that’s another topic.
10/12/2009
This article was very interesting and I agree that it is something that as musicians we should all be aware of, and help to solve the issue
10/19/2009
Thank you for sharing your story and creating more awareness of the issue of health coverage in the United States. Health care reform is something I am also very passionate about.
While I was reading through some of the comments I noticed the comment left by KSE which read:
“Isn’t health insurance available through the performing arts societies, at least one of them?
Wishing you the best.”
After reading this I began to wonder if that was true. With a small amount of research I found a website listing health insurance resources in New York:
http://www.artisthelpnetwork.com/dataread.pl?DB=CR_HI&STATE=ALL&menu=ccomforts&order=psv+org+pub+per+web+pro
Unfortunately, I have done extensive research for my area and there aren’t nearly as many resources here, but I hope this can help some people.
10/26/2009
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