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Wednesday, October 6, 2004
Artists hear state's pitch for insurance
Copyright © 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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Space Gallery, home to conceptual art shows and a vending machine that spews miniature paintings, tried to create a buzz again Tuesday - about health insurance. High premiums in Maine inspired the gallery's director, Nathaniel May, to draw artists into a conversation about benefits that elude many of them. Typically self-employed and underpaid, artists often have to choose materials for their livelihood over monthly premiums. "Almost none of my artist friends have insurance," said May, who himself can barely afford a $5,000-deductible plan. Surprisingly, little in the way of solutions has arisen in an artists' community as vibrant as Portland's. A plan for artists to band together to secure lower-cost insurance rates appears to have stalled, May said. So talk Tuesday focused largely on the state's new health insurance program, DirigoChoice, which opened its enrollment period Monday. A group of 30 people that included painters and filmmakers listened as Adam Thompson of the Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance tried to sell the program. While its monthly premiums are comparable to what's available on the market, DirigoChoice is unique in its lower deductibles, free preventive services such as routine physicals and bloodwork, and, most of all, its discount system for people who earn as much as three times the poverty level - about $28,000 a year per person, Thompson said. But self-employed artists, who would get an employer contribution, were skeptical that they would be able to afford the plan. "There are (income) deductions made for child care costs, alimony payments," Thompson said. "A few deductions would lower the income and hopefully make more people eligible" for discounts. Others were suspicious of the company that is running DirigoChoice, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine. Thompson said a governor-appointed board will closely scrutinize the program's activities. And for those who feared that Anthem, the state's largest insurer, would raise rates unexpectedly, Thompson said that "how increases will be determined has been negotiated with Anthem already." The talk left many wanting more details. "This looks better than Anthem's high-deductible, catastrophic plan" for individuals, said Robert Diamante, an uninsured photographer from Portland. "But I haven't searched out all the other products out there." Joseph Brunette, an independent filmmaker from Portland, is also undecided but said he planned to call Anthem for a quote "first thing in the morning." For its inaugural year, Brunette learned Tuesday, DirigoChoice is accepting only 4,500 individuals, be they self-employed, unemployed or working at businesses that do not offer insurance. The "first-come, first-served" criteria has caused a flood of phone calls to Anthem in the first couple of days. Company spokesman Bill Cohen said that 500 calls came in Monday, split between queries about individual policies and those for small-business employees, for which there are nearly six times as many spots available. To make the cap for individuals, people must submit a completed application as soon as possible. Staff Writer Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
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