Health Insurance for RPT's?

[David Ilvedson]

I've got to wonder if banding together is going to do anything...I have Kaiser and that is one heck of a lot of people banding together in a non-profit medical program....it still costs my family of three $803 a month for coverage...

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, California



----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Mark Schecter" <schecter at pacbell.net>
To: deanmay at pianorebuilders.com, "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
Received: 4/12/2006 8:30:34 PM
Subject: Re: Health Insurance for RPT's?




>Dean May wrote:
>> This is a very political topic, not piano related.

>Hi, Dean.

>Well, you may have already deleted this, but I hope you'll go just a few 
>paragraphs with me. Please understand that, in what I say below, I mean 
>no offense to you or anyone, no matter what their beliefs or positions. 
>I just beg your indulgence in a topic that has a lot of meaning for me, 
>and I suspect, for quite a few other piano technicians as well.

>As _piano_technicians_, we are, for the most part, self-employed. Some 
>of us have the good fortune to either be employed by a school or shop, 
>or to ride on our spouse's coattails into their employer's health 
>insurer. Many of us, for various reasons, can't do either of those 
>things. Some of us have only two possibilities for health coverage: 
>self-paid, or no coverage at all. I think (!) you'll agree that no 
>coverage is the least desirable choice.

>For those of us who have to pay for our own health coverage, the size of 
>the hit can be anywhere from mildly painful to extremely difficult, 
>depending on several factors that are largely out of our control. I 
>would be surprised if there are not piano technicians who have left the 
>field, simply because the only way they could acquire health coverage 
>was to go get a job somewhere in an unrelated field. Maybe this is not 
>piano-technical, but it sure is piano-technician-al.

>Today, Massachusetts passed a law providing health coverage to most of 
>the people in that state who are currently uninsured. I think that's a 
>good thing, but only time will tell how it all works out.

>California is currently debating a bill that would allow groups, such as 
>PTG, to band together to purchase health insurance at reduced group 
>rates, just as a business can do for its employees.

>I think being able to purchase reasonably priced health coverage through 
>the Guild is a very desirable benefit to offer members. I think it would 
>encourage people to join the Guild, and would be utilized by many 
>members, present and future. Would you not agree?

>But, the Guild can't offer group rates on health insurance because state 
>laws, which are heavily influenced by for-profit HMOs, won't permit it. 
>This needs to change, for the good of the people, even if that means 
>money out of the pockets of the HMOs. OK, yes, it's political, but we 
>are not just technicians, we are humans who need health care, and we are 
>business people who have enough on our plates with our craft and our 
>clienteles, not to also burden our families/ourselves with onerous 
>insurance payments or unlimited risk.

>So I hope you have the good fortune to have the coverage you need. For 
>those of us not that fortunate, this is really important. There is a 
>window of opportunity right now to change things for the better, and I 
>think it's a perfect use of this list to inform readers that things are 
>happening which need their input. If it doesn't apply to you, it might 
>apply to your friend. And, you can always just hit delete.

>If this is too off-topic for this list, I expect you and/or others 
>and/or the moderator will so inform me. Thank you for allowing this much.

>-Mark Schecter
>Oakland, CA