AUSTIN — The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) connects low-income, uninsured local musicians to subsidized health coverage through a partnership with Central Health, Travis County’s taxpayer-funded hospital district. Eligible musicians who enroll in the Sendero Silver Plan receive full premium support from Central Health, covering the remaining balance of their monthly costs.

HAAM identifies musicians who live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and links them to a health insurance navigator for enrollment in the health insurance marketplace. “HAAM has that strong working relationship with musicians,” said Kit Abney Spelce, Vice President of Operations at Central Health. “They identify musicians that are uninsured and meet our income criteria of living 200% and below the federal poverty level, and they connect them to a health insurance navigator in which they get enrolled on the health insurance marketplace. And when they choose a Sendero Silver Plan, Central Health then steps in and covers the remaining balance of their monthly insurance premiums.”

Rachel Blair, Chief Strategy Officer at HAAM, said musicians often credit the program with saving their lives. “Musicians come to us and tell us, you know, they'll say, ‘HAAM saved my life,’” Blair said. “If it wasn't for their insurance paid for by Central Health and provided by Sendero Health Plans, they say they wouldn't have gone to the doctor.”

Singer-songwriter Yadira Brown, an Alternative R&B artist in Austin, has relied on the Sendero plan for years. Diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and managing chronic pain and psoriasis, Brown lacked employer-sponsored insurance through her day job. “If I didn’t, I think I would be really sick, and I don't think I would be able to make music,” Brown said. “I've had this policy with Sendero for many years, and they've been really wonderful and consistent. Central Health has also been wonderful and consistent, always there whenever you have any questions.”