Musicians: looking for all the info in one quick place? Click here.

We’re thrilled to let you know that Local 802, the Actors Fund, and a coalition of union leaders and advocates have been working with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS to create a new campaign called EVERY ARTIST INSURED, which launched on June 29, 2020. (Click here for press release.)

With the pandemic dramatically affecting our members’ ability to work, we wanted to find ways to help our musicians maintain health insurance and find affordable options. The idea for this expanded campaign — and the funding — came out of a number of discussions we had with Tom Viola at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Joe Benincasa at the Actors Fund, both of whom are dedicated to helping 802 musicians.

The campaign, which will be administered by the Actors Fund, has two main parts: education and financial aid.

EDUCATION
The Actors Fund will provide new health insurance counselors to help musicians and other artists learn about all of their health insurance options, including COBRA and the Affordable Care Act (a/k/a Obamacare or the health exchanges). Help can be accessed through the Actors Fund Artists Health Insurance Resource Center. In addition, Local 802 and the Actors Fund are sponsoring a series of webinars for Local 802 members (see below).

ONE-ON-ONE COUNSELING AND LIMITED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
We want to let you know about an important initiative that may help you during this time. As part of the EVERY ARTIST INSURED campaign, the Actors Fund will offer you (and any musician or artist who needs it), one-on-one counseling sessions to explain your health insurance options, including COBRA, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (a/k/a Obamacare or the health exchanges/marketplace). To schedule a counseling session, call (917) 281-5975 or send an e-mail to ahirc@actorsfund.org. In addition, limited financial assistance may be available for those who qualify.

FOR ALL LOCAL 802 MEMBERS SEEKING HEALTH COVERAGE
We understand that maintaining health insurance is your number-one concern at this time. As part of the EVERY ARTIST INSURED campaign, we are co-sponsoring with the Actors Fund a series of free webinars designed for Local 802 members to explain your options for attaining and continuing health coverage.

A major part of the webinars will be a discussion of the Affordable Care Act (a/k/a Obamacare or the health exchanges). We’ll discuss how much these plans cost, how to pick a plan, and if you’ll be eligible for a subsidy. We’ll talk about the $20/month plan, options for free insurance, COBRA and more.

The webinars will fill up, so please enroll now. (The webinar is designed to be taken once; please don’t sign up for more than one.)

Click here to register for the webinar on Tuesday, July 14 from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Click here to register for the webinar on Monday, July 20 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Click here to register for the webinar on Friday, July 24 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

We are doing everything we can to support our musicians during this critical time. We are grateful to our partners at the Actors Fund and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for their leadership and help in creating the EVERY ARTISTS INSURED campaign.

In solidarity,

The Local 802 Executive Board