HAAM Addresses Healthcare Disparities with Episcopal Health Foundation Grant

HAAM is currently implementing focus groups and feedback sessions with musicians thanks to the assistance of a recent grant from the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF). This grant from EHF provides funding, staffing, and resources to assist in supporting musicians of color, nonbinary individuals, and female-identifying musicians who often face challenges in accessing health insurance and healthcare services. This grant is crucial for HAAM’s work to better serve Greater Austin’s traditionally underserved, under-represented communities suffering from centuries of healthcare inequalities which continue to this day.

By applying a racial and gender equity lens, HAAM is dedicated to increasing knowledge about health insurance, assisting musicians in overcoming barriers to care, and enhancing its capacity for equitable healthcare to keep some of HAAM’s most vulnerable musicians rooted in Austin by assisting them with healthcare navigation and services.

Although Austin musicians live, work, and play in the world renowned “live music capital of the world,” behind the melodies and harmonies of their life’s work lie a complex narrative of financial struggles and barriers to healthcare faced by the very musicians who make the city's music scene thrive. With the work outlined in the EHF grant, HAAM is taking steps to address these issues for underrepresented musicians in an effort to promote health equity and ensure access to vital healthcare services.

Austin's live music scene is not only a part of our cultural fabric that makes the city world renowned, but it is also a significant economic driver for our Central Texas economy. Drawing in hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, Austin’s live music scene generates more than $2 billion in economic activity and $38 million in tax revenue. However, the 9,000 working musicians who contribute to the city’s famous live music culture often find themselves juggling multiple jobs - struggling to meet basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter - leaving them with little to no resources for healthcare. Astonishingly, approximately 80% of musicians associated with HAAM earn less than $24,000 per year.

An additional challenge for HAAM’s musicians' well-being stems from the rising costs of health insurance, making access to affordable coverage increasingly elusive for low-income musicians in Central Texas. And when the institutionalized inequities of race and gender are overlaid onto a musician’s ability to work and live in Austin, the data shows that the disparities for musicians of color grow.

“We never want our musicians to have to choose between seeing a doctor or putting food on their plate,” says HAAM CEO Paul Scott. “Reaching out to - and providing equitable health services - to Austin’s most traditionally under-resourced communities is a big part of our work to ensure the Austin music community becomes even more representative of our diverse communities. When we take healthcare expenses off the plate of a musician, we provide more of their income for housing, food, and providing for their families.”

Escalating health insurance costs are not the sole financial obstacle for musicians in Austin. The city's surging inflation and rising housing expenses have further strained their budgets. Since August 2021, the rental rates in Austin have skyrocketed by 86.3%, with the median rent soaring to approximately $2,930 per month (source: Spectrum News, 2022). Alarming statistics reveal that 75% of HAAM musicians earn less than $2,075 per month.

Yet, these financial constraints are only part of the story. Austin's music industry, like many others, grapples with the ramifications of institutional racism and sexism. The Austin Music Census of 2015 exposed glaring disparities, revealing that merely 20% of the city's musicians identify as female, despite women constituting half of the general population. The census also unveiled the underrepresentation of African American and Hispanic artists in the Austin music sector, with only 4.4% of musicians identifying as African American compared to 7.2% of the general population, and 10.4% identifying as Hispanic compared to 31.9% of the general population.

With the assistance of the EHF grant, HAAM is addressing these challenges head-on in pursuit of health equity for all Austin musicians.  The organization is proactively working to ensure that healthcare and community resources are equally accessible to musicians of all races, genders, ages, identities, and abilities. Collaborating closely with community partners, HAAM is forging connections to healthcare navigation and support resources, removing barriers to comprehensive health coverage and security while bolstering health insurance navigation and enrollment.

In a city that thrives on the creativity of its music culture, HAAM is here to ensure every musician's well-being stands as a testament to the power of healthcare for all, inclusion for all, and the belief that everyone deserves access to essential healthcare services.