The Fall 2007 Art Source (now 20 pages!) contains profiles of this year's Grants for Artist Projects (GAP) recipients, Programs and Information Services updates, as well as the following feature article, and much more!

Become an Artist Trust member and Art Source will be mailed to you four times a year.

Feature Article:

To Your Health: An Interview with Claudia Bach on the Washington Artists Health Insurance Project
by Miguel Guillen, Information Services Manager

Artist Trust has been leading efforts to find solutions for artists to get cost-effective access to health care and health insurance. I recently sat down with Claudia Bach, a consultant working on behalf of the Washington Artists Health Insurance Project (WAHIP), to get her perspective on the progress to date.

Miguel Guillen: Claudia, can you give us a quick synopsis of WAHIP and its relationship to Artist Trust?

Claudia Bach: WAHIP was developed in late 2004 as a national laboratory project seeking to address the issue of health coverage for artists. When Artist Trust was founded 20 years ago, the issue of health care for Washington artists was on the founders’ radar as an identified need for the artist community.

This history of Artist Trust, combined with other factors, made Washington a locus for understanding coverage issues and options for artists. WAHIP’s formation can be directly linked to the national research study conducted in 2003 by the Urban Institute, Investing in Creativity: a Study of the Support Structure for U.S. Artists. This study led to the creation of LINC (Leveraging Investments in Creativity), which in turn provided an opportunity for Artist Trust to reexamine this concern. WAHIP is the evolution of this.

How would you describe the response and relationship of other Washington State arts organizations to WAHIP?

The partnership between Artist Trust and LINC continues to be the cornerstone of this effort, with significant support from the Ford Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Artist Trust has been joined in WAHIP, in various ways, by over 40 other arts organizations in Washington State. There is extraordinary support for this effort.

How has this project gained momentum recently?

The most innovative WAHIP project underway is a pilot project to increase access to care at Community Health Centers in King County for artists. This pilot project will focus on the group of artists who earn below 400% of Federal Poverty Level. We hope that the pieces can be in place in late 2008 or 2009.

No matter how much innovation we create through WAHIP it cannot create the needed systemic change. WAHIP is advocating for larger shifts, focusing on the issues of the self-employed. WAHIP continues to work for efforts that can benefit independent workers, such as artists, and decouple insurance from employment.

Is there any legislative activity that WAHIP is attempting to influence or has influenced?

Yes. WAHIP supported the “retainer” health care bill, passed in the last legislative session, which permits new efforts at primary and preventive care for an affordable set monthly fee. WAHIP chose to support this option based on the outcomes of our focus groups with artists in 2006.

For the next legislative session, there is an ongoing dialogue with legislators to see how WAHIP projects can serve as models for larger efforts and initiatives for health coverage reform in Washington.

Can you give us some closing thoughts and tell us where more information can be found?

Needless to say, there is no simple solution to this complex area; however, there are encouraging indications of a shift in thinking, and support for the project remains high. The support from arts community members is important and the interest of numerous health policy, care and insurance experts in Washington State and nationally is encouraging. WAHIP’s efforts continue to push the envelope for expanding access for artists, and we hope this helps lead to needed reforms. Seeing artists take a leading role on such an important social issue as healthcare is both exciting and dynamic.

The best way to stay informed is to monitor Artist Trust publications (like Art Source) and online materials on www.artisttrust.org/services/wahip. No matter what changes WAHIP is involved in, it will fall to individual artists to stay informed of their options and to take action regarding their health.

Thank you very much for spending this time to help us understand the Washington Artists Health Insurance Project and the efforts being made on behalf of Washington State artists.

::