• Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock
Stock

Why Chappell Roan and other artists find themselves among the 25 million uninsured Americans

by February 9, 2025
written by February 9, 2025

With a Grammy win for best new artist, Chappell Roan is at a career high. A few years ago, she was one of the millions of Americans without a job or health insurance.

“I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels, and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists, would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said at the Grammy awards show in Los Angeles on Feb. 2.

“When I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt. And like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and could not afford health insurance,” she said in her acceptance speech.

“If my label would have prioritized artists’ health, I could’ve been provided care by a company I was giving everything to. So, record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection.”

Roan, whose given name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, was released from her record label in 2020. That’s the same year a huge spike in unemployment resulted in an estimated 1.6 million to 3.3 million people losing coverage through their employers, according to the Health and Human Services Department.

At the time, coverage expansions put in place by the Affordable Care Act acted as a safety net for those experiencing coverage disruptions.

That government-backed aid significantly lowered the costs of coverage for people buying health insurance plans on the ACA marketplace. Those customers include anyone who doesn’t have access to a workplace plan, such as self-employed individuals like musicians, as well as students and the unemployed, among others.

Gains in Medicaid and marketplace coverage have contributed to significant declines in the uninsured rate, according to KFF, a nonprofit formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

“With the Affordable Care Act, there’s a health care safety net for artists who previously had none,” said Larry Levitt, KFF’s executive vice president for health policy. The ACA also guarantees insurance for pre-existing conditions and subsidizes premiums based on income, he said.

Yet, there can still be challenges for artists in getting health insurance if their recording labels don’t provide it, according to Levitt.

“If income is volatile, premiums can fluctuate and be unpredictable because subsidies are based on actual income for the year,” Levitt said. “So an artist who has no income for a period of time can be left with no viable health insurance options.”

“It makes it really hard, especially for starving artists,” said Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner based in Jacksonville, Florida.

Jeff Rabhan, the former chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, said in a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter that “Roan’s call for record labels to pay artists a livable wage and provide health care was noble — but also wildly misinformed.”

In the column, published Feb. 5, Rabhan said “if labels are responsible for artists’ wages, health care and overall well-being, where does it end and personal responsibility begin?”

“Should artists have better health-care options? Absolutely,” Rabhan said in the column. “Sounds like a union thing to me. Most independent managers don’t have insurance, either — it’s a flaw in the industry at large, not just on the label side.”

Since those in the music industry are often paid as independent contractors, that makes it more likely they will forgo coverage, according to McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners and a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.

“Unfortunately, many are not part of a union and are on their own in getting health insurance,” she said. “Sadly, many self-employed people don’t understand the Affordable Care Act and how to obtain insurance on their own.”

Even today, there are about 25 million uninsured Americans, KFF research shows.

“Most of the country is involved in [an] employer/employee relationship where the company is responsible for their wages, health care, and some care about your well-being. However, most artists don’t have this luxury and don’t understand they are basically running their own business,” McClanahan said.

“At least give them the tools.”

CNBC’s attempts to reach Roan for comment were not successful, but Roan responded to Rabhan on Instagram by saying she donated $25,000 to support “struggling dropped artists.”

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Trump removes Antony Blinken, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg’s security clearances among others
next post
Trump directs Secret Service to give him ‘every bit of information’ about his attempted assassins: report

related articles

Customers sue sneaker company On over shoes that...

October 20, 2025

Giorgio Armani group names longtime executive Giuseppe Marsocci...

October 17, 2025

LendingTree founder and CEO Doug Lebda dies in...

October 15, 2025

UPS is ‘disposing of’ U.S.-bound packages over customs...

October 13, 2025

China outlines more controls on exports of rare...

October 10, 2025

Paramount acquires Bari Weiss’ The Free Press, naming...

October 7, 2025

YouTube to pay $24 million to settle Trump...

October 1, 2025

Charlie Javice sentenced to 7 years in prison...

October 1, 2025

Video game maker Electronic Arts to be acquired...

October 1, 2025

Nearly 200,000 BMWs recalled over potential fire risk

September 30, 2025
Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News, And Articles.


Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

Latest News

  • Former USAID official Mark Moyar says ‘corruption’ at agency ‘subverted’ Trump White House

    February 6, 2025
  • Experts predict Supreme Court likely to stay out of 2024 presidential election

    October 27, 2024
  • Meta layoffs: workers challenge Zuckerberg’s ‘low performer’ justification

    February 12, 2025
  • Trump’s ‘denuclearization’ suggestion with Russia and China: How would it work?

    February 3, 2025
  • Trump’s fresh White House portrait sparks interest amid controversy over National Portrait Gallery leadership

    June 3, 2025

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Secret Service admits leaning on ‘state and local partners’ after claim it ignored Trump team’s past requests

    July 21, 2024
  • 2

    Five more House Democrats call on Biden to drop out, third US senator

    July 19, 2024
  • 3

    Forex Profit Calculator: Maximize Your Trading Potential

    July 10, 2024
  • 4

    Elon and Vivek should tackle US funding for this boondoogle organization and score a multimillion dollar win

    December 4, 2024
  • 5

    Biden calls to ‘lower the temperature’ then bashes Trump in NAACP speech

    July 17, 2024

Categories

  • Economy (829)
  • Editor's Pick (6,506)
  • Investing (634)
  • Stock (941)

Latest Posts

  • Jill Biden should have to answer for ‘cover up’ of former president’s decline, White House says

    May 29, 2025
  • Farm state Republicans appear skeptical about RFK amid his quest for HHS confirmation

    December 18, 2024
  • Long KTOS: Kratos Defense, $1.45B Contract Spurs Hypersonic Growth, Next Stop, New Highs?

    January 7, 2025

Recent Posts

  • After success in Paris, Los Angeles looks to elevate Olympic Games in 2028

    September 12, 2024
  • National Police Association endorses Trump pick for FBI director

    December 6, 2024
  • Harris dodging flip-flop attacks as faceless surrogates flip key positions: ‘Playing politics’

    August 15, 2024

Editor’s Pick

  • Appeals court rules DOGE can continue operating at USAID in another win for Trump administration

    March 29, 2025
  • Why Trump is right to revitalize the Monroe Doctrine

    April 18, 2025
  • Trump’s reciprocal tariffs may target the EU, Japan, and India—here’s what we know

    February 14, 2025
  • About us
  • Contacts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Disclaimer: moneyrisetoday.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Copyright © 2025 moneyrisetoday.com | All Rights Reserved

Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock