OP-ED: Health Insurance for Comedians is No Joke

Nick Mayer hosting HACC’s sold-out launch event on May 17th at the Lincoln Lodge. Image Credit: Nkechi Chibueze

OP-ED

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A stand-up comedian, an improviser, and a sketch performer walk into a doctor’s office for a regularly-scheduled check-up covered by insurance with a reasonable co-pay. No? You haven’t heard that one? 

The cost of health insurance is going up, with individuals who purchase theirs on the Illinois ACA exchange paying 26% more than last year. Meanwhile, Congress opted not to expand federal subsidies to help make health insurance affordable, a deliberate tactic to try to kill the Affordable Care Act. Contract employees are getting squeezed out of coverage entirely. This includes many artists whose talents help make Chicago Chicago. Including comedians.  

Chicago is a comedy city. Tourists and locals alike reliably find great performances on any given day, from immersive improv at the iO Theater, world-class sketch at Second City, or some of the city’s best standups at the Lincoln Lodge. Aspiring comics move to Chicago to take classes and hone their skills at open mics across the city. Today’s stars – Josh Johnson, John Mulaney, Amy Poehler, Kumail Nanjiani, Stephen Colbert, Sarah Sherman – started right here in the Windy City. 

Comedians play an essential role in a healthy democracy. Free speech includes indecent speech, a specialty of many comics (perhaps most famously and litigiously, Lenny Bruce and George Carlin). Comedians poke fun at people in power, a hallmark of democracy. When the FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatens to cancel ABC’s license over a joke, it’s more than Jimmy Kimmel’s voice at risk of being silenced. This was and remains an alarming attempt to silence all dissent. Freedom of speech needs to be protected for comics if it’s going to be protected for anyone. 

In Chicago, many talented and hilarious comics can’t afford to leave day jobs that provide health insurance, so they are never able to tour and advance their careers. The ones who are able are more likely to be independently wealthy. In a survey we conducted of comics working in Chicago, nearly one-third are simply going without health insurance entirely. If they get sick or injured, they have no resources, except starting a Go Fund Me campaign to cover their expenses. This is not sustainable, nor is it the only option. 

Elizabeth Grossman making a fundraising pitch at the HACC’s May 17th sold-out launch event at the Lincoln Lodge. Image Credit: Nkechi Chibueze

We can support comedians by making it easier for them to access affordable health insurance. In Austin, Texas, the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) is doing this for musicians. Nearly 1700 musicians last year received subsidies to help them access health insurance on the Texas healthcare exchange. It’s not a coincidence that Austin is considered the live music capital of the world – organizations like HAAM make it possible. We can create a comedy culture in Chicago of support and mutual aid, on that reflects Chicago values. “Yes and” is a rule in improv comedy whereby you accept the conditions created by your scene partner and add to it. Yes, we need to push for systemic change, and we need to provide for people in the system we have now.  

Access to health insurance for Chicago comedians might not seem like the most pressing issue right now, but it sits at the intersection of access to affordable healthcare for contract workers, the unique character of Chicago’s culture and arts scene, and the importance of comedy to speak truth to power in a thriving democracy. Comedians should have health insurance because all contract workers should have health insurance. The more we talk to artists and non-profits supporting artists, the more it’s become clear that this can be an important pilot program that can expand beyond the Chicago comedy scene. Thousands of Chicago workers do not get health insurance through their employer and are not eligible for Medicaid. The end of federal subsidies for Obamacare creates a Morton’s fork – pay an unaffordable amount for your premium or forego insurance entirely. 

Nick Mayer, headliner Sam Tallent, and Elizabeth Grossman at HACC’s May 17th sold-out launch event at the Lincoln Lodge. Image Credit: Nkechi Chibueze

The city of Chicago has protested and marched against authoritarian overreach from the Trump Administration. Creating a thriving and supportive infrastructure for Chicago’s comedy scene is another way to push back. We can create an economy that supports the creative arts, values comedy as an artistic expression, and recognizes that everyone should have access to affordable, high-quality healthcare, including the people who help us experience joy and share laughter. 

Elizabeth Grossman is a lawyer and former executive director of Common Cause Illinois. Nick Mayer is a stand-up comic and educator based in Chicago. They co-founded the Health Alliance for Chicago Comedians.