Back in September, we took a good, hard look at the health care crisis in the music community. The handy stat back then came from a survey conducted by the Future of Music Coalition in 2002; it was that 44% of working musicians lived without access to adequate health care, because they were either un- or under-insured. In part one of that investigation, we heard stories directly from musicians, and examined the widespread problem also with help from Alex Maiolo, a health insurance specialist who helps musicians navigate the insurance landscape through a free, non-profit, non-partisan program set by the FMC called HINT (Health Insurance Navigation Tool).  In part two, we zoomed out a little, and examined the political situation at the time, offering a sort of glossary to help people understand what the power-holders are talking about, again with input from Alex Maiolo and other sources.

Welp, the political debate rages on. The hardliners in favor of the public option went all soft and squiggly; Obama’s timeline for achievement fell through the cracks of compromise and corruption, and now the Dems have lost they’re super-majority. Yep, it’s been real inspiring. But the fight’s far from over, and the more we can demonstrate the people’s needs and the people’s will, the more ammunition we might have in exacting actual change and winning politicians back into the fray. To that end, the FMC has embarked upon a follow-up survey of musicians regarding their health insurance status.  Are you a musician? Are any of your friends or family members currently working musicians? If so, you might want to take the survey. The more we know about the situation, the better able we are to address it… So stand up and be counted!