As Musicians Age, Medical Bills From Hard-And-Fast Lifestyle Can Be Daunting
Older musicians are struggling as royalty checks get smaller, and medical costs mount from a life on the road. Meanwhile, Louisiana's newly expanded Medicaid program is helping musicians who have never had stable health care before.
The Washington Post:
When The Hits (To Musicians’ Health) Just Keep On Coming
The deaths of David Bowie, Glenn Frey and Natalie Cole may have caught music fans by surprise, but they can be assured their heroes died receiving the best medical treatment possible. Most musicians, however, struggle to pay the bills, and those who may have enjoyed the spoils of fame in their heyday are finding that often doesn’t translate to covering the mounting medical costs they face in their twilight years. Accelerating the problem are changes in the music business itself. Artists who enjoyed hit records in the pre-digital era once were assured they could rely on continuing royalties that would allow them to enjoy retirement in comfort. Not anymore. (Guarino, 7/2)
NPR:
Louisiana Medicaid Expansion Brings Insurance To Many New Orleans Musicians
Lisa Lynn Kotnik has been a singer on the New Orleans club circuit for more than 15 years. ... While Kotnik sings to revelers at night under the stage name Lisa Lynn, in the daytime she's battled health problems — fibroids, ovarian cysts, a hysterectomy and even a brain aneurysm. "So, I've had a lot of surgeries," she says. She counts at least five. And like many of her fellow musicians, Kotnik has never really had health insurance. Her income as a singer is tenuous and fluctuates with the seasons, so insurance has always just been too expensive, she says. (Kodjak, 7/1)
