July 19, 2012
Back In The Swing Of Things...
by Chris Randall
A fairly awesome vacation was had; always nice to see my nieces, who are, I'm sad to say, far cooler than all other kids, including yours. The only truly remarkable thing is that I live in Phoenix, and went to the Oregon coast to get a sunburn. If you've visited the Oregon coast, you'll know immediately how ludicrous that statement is.
Trying to get all caught up on Audio Damage stuff, plus the various contracts I have out currently. I basically stepped off the plane and right back in to the Pixel Mines. Such is the life of a user interface designer, I suppose. Not as glamorous as being a rock star, but it certainly is far more likely to pay the bills, and that ain't nothing.
Which brings us to a somewhat more somber subject. Our good friend Adam Jay, who posts here often, had a pretty bad health problem a couple weeks ago that involved a run to the ER, several days in the ICU and lots of follow-up treatment. Adam is a professional musician, and thus, like all professional musicians, he doesn't have health insurance. The bills from this emergency treatment are fairly alarming, and Adam is really in a bind.
He has started an Indiegogo campaign to help defray the costs of this whole extravaganza, and it falls to us to help a brother out, in the same way that we'd want to be helped if we were in a similar situation. One of the tiers in the campaign is a vinyl EP created from recordings of the hospital gear he made while in the ICU, which is, I think, both crafty and cool.
So do the right thing and hook Adam up. We often speak here about how the public-at-large expects us to entertain them, while continually giving us the fuzzy end of the lollipop. We have to take care of our own, and Adam is one of us, and needs our help.
Trying to get all caught up on Audio Damage stuff, plus the various contracts I have out currently. I basically stepped off the plane and right back in to the Pixel Mines. Such is the life of a user interface designer, I suppose. Not as glamorous as being a rock star, but it certainly is far more likely to pay the bills, and that ain't nothing.
Which brings us to a somewhat more somber subject. Our good friend Adam Jay, who posts here often, had a pretty bad health problem a couple weeks ago that involved a run to the ER, several days in the ICU and lots of follow-up treatment. Adam is a professional musician, and thus, like all professional musicians, he doesn't have health insurance. The bills from this emergency treatment are fairly alarming, and Adam is really in a bind.
He has started an Indiegogo campaign to help defray the costs of this whole extravaganza, and it falls to us to help a brother out, in the same way that we'd want to be helped if we were in a similar situation. One of the tiers in the campaign is a vinyl EP created from recordings of the hospital gear he made while in the ICU, which is, I think, both crafty and cool.
So do the right thing and hook Adam up. We often speak here about how the public-at-large expects us to entertain them, while continually giving us the fuzzy end of the lollipop. We have to take care of our own, and Adam is one of us, and needs our help.
34 comments:
I'm sorry to be the devil's advocate and fully DO NOT intend this to sound overly critical...I know that getting stacked with medical bills SUCKS no matter what your income level or employment status.
But why don't most musicians have health insurance?
Especially relatively young ones like Adam?
I get that most musicians aren't exactly swimming in money (raises hand, as I do not have a Scrooge McDuck money room either, and while I am technically a professional musician I certainly have to hold a source of regular income to keep the bills paid), but I manage to buy health insurance on my own (my employer is a small company, and frankly...the benefits suck and because they employ a disproportionate amount of old people with health problems...the health insurance I can get through them is mediocre and excessively expensive for a healthy person at my tender age of 27). The plan I have now, while not "great" is still better than what I can get through my employer and at $70/month, costs less than I am willing to bet many musician's smartphone and/or cable bills are...
I truly do not intend to come off "holier than thou," I do not envy Adam's situation one bit...but I do think young people need to look at their frivolous expenses and weigh them against what could happen if this situation were turned on them. My singer is the same way...mid 30's...appendix burst while on the road with another band...no insurance. He was lucky enough that the band he was "roady-ing" for could front the bill...but retrospectively not to judge but...he definitely has a lot of "luxury" expenses that most regular guys can't afford...which he chose over health insurance.
But why don't most musicians have health insurance?
Especially relatively young ones like Adam?
I get that most musicians aren't exactly swimming in money (raises hand, as I do not have a Scrooge McDuck money room either, and while I am technically a professional musician I certainly have to hold a source of regular income to keep the bills paid), but I manage to buy health insurance on my own (my employer is a small company, and frankly...the benefits suck and because they employ a disproportionate amount of old people with health problems...the health insurance I can get through them is mediocre and excessively expensive for a healthy person at my tender age of 27). The plan I have now, while not "great" is still better than what I can get through my employer and at $70/month, costs less than I am willing to bet many musician's smartphone and/or cable bills are...
I truly do not intend to come off "holier than thou," I do not envy Adam's situation one bit...but I do think young people need to look at their frivolous expenses and weigh them against what could happen if this situation were turned on them. My singer is the same way...mid 30's...appendix burst while on the road with another band...no insurance. He was lucky enough that the band he was "roady-ing" for could front the bill...but retrospectively not to judge but...he definitely has a lot of "luxury" expenses that most regular guys can't afford...which he chose over health insurance.
Being a UK expat I'm not totally clued-up on US health insurance, i get mine through my wife's policy (which she gets via the university), but if you can get reasonable health insurance for $70 a month why is there even a fucking debate in this country?
I just find it hard to believe that a self employed musician could get solid coverage for that. Regardless, the bastards never pay anyway.
I just find it hard to believe that a self employed musician could get solid coverage for that. Regardless, the bastards never pay anyway.
That's certainly a fair point. Speaking strictly for myself, I reached the age where I discovered I wasn't indestructible at roughly the same time I got married. A female that is able to procreate is... uh... expensive, vis-a-vis health insurance. We've never been able to afford it, and don't have it now. It may seem like I'm fairly well-off, but I live in a very cheap part of the country, and we live pretty frugally. To get something that doesn't have a $10K deductible (that is to say more or less pointless) for both of us is a grand a month, easily. That's equal to my rent (already a quarter of my net income), and greater than all my other monthly bills combined, including my car payment.
We accept a certain amount of risk living this lifestyle, of course. That's to be expected.
-CR
We accept a certain amount of risk living this lifestyle, of course. That's to be expected.
-CR
Yes, females of procreating age are definitely a different world entirely as far as health insurance goes... Even with insurance...my wife is not on my plan but she was in the hospital just recently, one cat scan and some blood work set us back over $2k. Without insurance it would have been $8k.
Chris -
I definitely have assumed that you also are not "swimming in Scrooge McDuck riches well off", as in my experience with the professional musicians I do work with has shown me, it takes a pretty seriously successful band (talking multi-platinum selling regularly doing big tours) to afford what I would consider a "modest" luxury (slightly above middle class but not super rich....someone truly able to live on their music/art alone, and support their family with it). Most professional musicians that I would say have had pretty successful points in their careers but not the momentum I have noticed if they did not have a fallout plan (or a comeback after getting dumped from their label in the late 90s early 00s) they currently live in or below what I (and most people making more than 20 hours a week at minimum wage, I assume) consider poverty.
Chris -
I definitely have assumed that you also are not "swimming in Scrooge McDuck riches well off", as in my experience with the professional musicians I do work with has shown me, it takes a pretty seriously successful band (talking multi-platinum selling regularly doing big tours) to afford what I would consider a "modest" luxury (slightly above middle class but not super rich....someone truly able to live on their music/art alone, and support their family with it). Most professional musicians that I would say have had pretty successful points in their careers but not the momentum I have noticed if they did not have a fallout plan (or a comeback after getting dumped from their label in the late 90s early 00s) they currently live in or below what I (and most people making more than 20 hours a week at minimum wage, I assume) consider poverty.
We are very lucky in New Zealand to still have a mostly free health care system. It may not be perfect but at least if I nearly die all I have to worry about is getting better... not how am I going to pay for it!
I bought the vinyl EP and gave a little bit extra. Regardless of the augments for and against health insurance... I'm happy to show solidarity for a brother in need.
- Hugo
I bought the vinyl EP and gave a little bit extra. Regardless of the augments for and against health insurance... I'm happy to show solidarity for a brother in need.
- Hugo
$70 a month for insurance. Lucky you. The insurance at my work would be more than double (might be closer to triple...I just laughed when they told me the number) that, and I work for a non-profit, so I assure you I don't make much.
Add in the high deductible and sure, you can get insurance, but you're basically getting catastrophic insurance that still wouldn't even come close to taking care of a bill like the one Adam got smacked with. And by the way, the $20k is AFTER the uninsured discount. Sit with that one for a minute.
Quite frankly, if it was that bloody easy to afford insurance in the US, we wouldn't have almost 50 million people without it. So it's easy to sit and throw anecdotal comments out, but that's exactly what your experience is: anecdotal, and obviously not useful for extrapolating out the factors that cause the larger problem of a severe lack of healthcare for most people.
Kslight, I don't think you meant any of that in an attack-y way, but I get a bee in my bonnet every time someone says "well this is MY experience and surely my experience is applicable to everyone". Except it's not. And that is all-too-common but fairly faulty reasoning.
Anyway, I could argue this particular topic for days, but really the pertinent point I want to make is that armchair quarterbacking is all well and good, but this happened, and here we are. Thanks to everyone that helps out. You have no idea how appreciated it is, by Adam and by his friends. Much love, y'all.
Add in the high deductible and sure, you can get insurance, but you're basically getting catastrophic insurance that still wouldn't even come close to taking care of a bill like the one Adam got smacked with. And by the way, the $20k is AFTER the uninsured discount. Sit with that one for a minute.
Quite frankly, if it was that bloody easy to afford insurance in the US, we wouldn't have almost 50 million people without it. So it's easy to sit and throw anecdotal comments out, but that's exactly what your experience is: anecdotal, and obviously not useful for extrapolating out the factors that cause the larger problem of a severe lack of healthcare for most people.
Kslight, I don't think you meant any of that in an attack-y way, but I get a bee in my bonnet every time someone says "well this is MY experience and surely my experience is applicable to everyone". Except it's not. And that is all-too-common but fairly faulty reasoning.
Anyway, I could argue this particular topic for days, but really the pertinent point I want to make is that armchair quarterbacking is all well and good, but this happened, and here we are. Thanks to everyone that helps out. You have no idea how appreciated it is, by Adam and by his friends. Much love, y'all.
ASCAP used to have a really great plan through CIGNA. (I had the dental, which was outstanding. Couldn't afford the medical at the time.) However, around 1999 they switched to some bullshit clearing house, and the premiums went _way_ up. This wasn't ASCAP's fault, per se. Rather, CIGNA cancelled the plan that we were able to get.
In any event, as DJ Shiva says, lots of people can come out of the woodwork and say "well, this works fine for me!!!" A 25-year-old fit white male with no health problems, a normal middle-class lifestyle, who doesn't smoke and hasn't ever had bad credit or been in trouble with the law will be able to get a pretty good plan, because the law of averages (which rules insurance) says that he won't be much burden on the system.
Hardly any musicians fit in that pigeonhole. I know quite a few myself, and I'm not personally aware of any that have insurance that they don't get from their spouse's job.
-CR
In any event, as DJ Shiva says, lots of people can come out of the woodwork and say "well, this works fine for me!!!" A 25-year-old fit white male with no health problems, a normal middle-class lifestyle, who doesn't smoke and hasn't ever had bad credit or been in trouble with the law will be able to get a pretty good plan, because the law of averages (which rules insurance) says that he won't be much burden on the system.
Hardly any musicians fit in that pigeonhole. I know quite a few myself, and I'm not personally aware of any that have insurance that they don't get from their spouse's job.
-CR
One of the main reasons I don't "go for it" as a professional musician is this right here. I have 2 kids and a wife to support. Perhaps we could maybe live off the indie musician's shoestring budget, but health insurance is so important to us.
I wish the world was a far different place. Good luck to your friend.
I wish the world was a far different place. Good luck to your friend.
my insurance is pretty shitty and it costs $3k a year. it's all i could get because of pre-existing conditions. great how that works isn't it? "oh you need insurance because you have health problems? fuck you.. you can't have it.. well.. maybe you can have this really shitty insurance that doesn't cover much.. we'll let you have that"
anyway - a person w/o pre-exiting conditions will be able to get insurance once that portion of the health care law phases in. they won't be able to turn you down for that anymore.
my brother just got insured again and his bill is like $350+ a month. non smoker, no health issues or existing chronic conditions. his coverage is good and deductible is reasonable. more or less it's what you'd get if you worked for a decent corporation.
if you have a family then multiply that $350+ a month per person in your family.. more or less. try doing that while creating a college fund or planning a 2 week vacation or dealing with any of the other random crap that comes up in life... you need to be firmly middle class or have a really generous employer or have catastrophe coverage only.. the options aren't really plentiful for preventative healthcare... debt is common even for people who have coverage.
ok.. i'll shut up now..
anyway - a person w/o pre-exiting conditions will be able to get insurance once that portion of the health care law phases in. they won't be able to turn you down for that anymore.
my brother just got insured again and his bill is like $350+ a month. non smoker, no health issues or existing chronic conditions. his coverage is good and deductible is reasonable. more or less it's what you'd get if you worked for a decent corporation.
if you have a family then multiply that $350+ a month per person in your family.. more or less. try doing that while creating a college fund or planning a 2 week vacation or dealing with any of the other random crap that comes up in life... you need to be firmly middle class or have a really generous employer or have catastrophe coverage only.. the options aren't really plentiful for preventative healthcare... debt is common even for people who have coverage.
ok.. i'll shut up now..
No I got the "after uninsured discount" part. A regular insurance plan would likely knock his initial bill down 80% (+ or - depending on the plan) and I think would likely have made this situation better.
Maybe he CAN'T get reasonably priced insurance, I'm not saying that my experience fits all...but you know I get the impression that many don't even try if their employer doesn't offer it.
And if you have some serious pre-existing conditions, yeah you are going to get screwed if you try to get health insurance...that is why you would want to get it from your employer. A guy at work is around 50 and has ALS....his insurance would be absolutely stupendous if he couldn't get it through work...if he could get insurance at all. His constant chemo treatments to keep his condition under control I'm sure are just astronomical.
Maybe he CAN'T get reasonably priced insurance, I'm not saying that my experience fits all...but you know I get the impression that many don't even try if their employer doesn't offer it.
And if you have some serious pre-existing conditions, yeah you are going to get screwed if you try to get health insurance...that is why you would want to get it from your employer. A guy at work is around 50 and has ALS....his insurance would be absolutely stupendous if he couldn't get it through work...if he could get insurance at all. His constant chemo treatments to keep his condition under control I'm sure are just astronomical.
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