Thoughtful advocacy yields positive results in artist health coverage
Kelly George
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On a desk at Kathy Bitetti's day job, there is a stack of hand-made "thank you" cards decorated with scrap material she had left over from a recent art project. "Good manners go a long way," Bitetti said. "I always tell people, never send a 'thank you' email unless you know the person really well. Send a card."
As the executive director of The Artists Foundation, Bitetti is facilitating nearly 20 Artist Town Meetings across the state to promote one of the foundation's key initiatives, Healthcare for Artists. The initiative and accompanying website were set up in just one week in response to the Massachusetts healthcare reform legislation passed in April of 2006. Part of this legislation, known as the individual mandate, requires all Massachusetts residents to have health insurance by Dec. 31, 2007.
When Bitetti says advocacy is easier than it looks, it's hard to know if she's referring to decoding public policy or testifying at the state house or the long hours she puts in, because all of it looks hard. At an Artist Town meeting co-hosted by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) held at Emmanuel College this week, Bitetti admitted she was up until 1 a.m. the night before making "thank you" cards for the staff and board of the Connector Authority -- the agency set up to implement the health care reform legislation.
On June 5, at the Connector Authority's monthly meeting, the board decided on a fine distinction in terms that will have a big impact on artists like Bitetti.
"The previous language that was being used was 'gross income' to determine whether or not people would be mandated to purchase health insurance," said Dick Powers, spokesperson for the Connector Authority. "Kathy has attended all of the meetings and has advocated tirelessly on behalf of the artists community. As a result, the language was changed from 'gross income' to 'adjusted gross income,'" Powers said.
The addition of the word "adjusted," that's what the "thank you" cards are for, she said.
The difference between gross income and income after accounting for big expenses like art supplies and studio space could make the difference between being able to afford a health plan or not. "This doesn't have an impact on just the artist's community, but it impacts all self-employed people in Massachusetts," Powers said.