While most artists were preparing for Art Week this month, Pamela Palma, a textile designer and fabric artist, attended an Affordable Care Act seminar.
“You have to have a Master’s Degree in insurance lingo to understand how this works,” said Palma, 63, adding that the new healthcare act is just another quagmire we have to figure out.
The HistoryMiami Museum and other local agencies set up the event, where artists got to listen to what the Affordable Care Act has to offer and the penalties for not having health insurance.
“It was the other day ... that I realized that there are probably all these artists here who have no clue what is happening [with healthcare law],” said James Echols, one of the event organizers, who works for the non-profit Life is Art to teach artists how to do business.
Here are five key things artists learned at the seminar:
1) People will no longer be denied for any pre-existing conditions.
2) Smokers will pay more for their health insurance.
3) Enrollment for health insurance ends on March 31, 2014.
4) Men and women will pay the same for health insurance.
5) Maternity and mental health will be covered.
For more information, visit Healthcare.gov.
Lisbett Castillo, an FIU student, produced this piece as part of a radio storytelling class at WLRN.
