CMA to Offer Own Health Plan

The Country Music Association is offering group health insurance coverage to its six-thousand members around the U-S.

Nearly 70-percent of the CMA’s members are self-employed as artists, publicists and engineers, thus making insurance coverage expensive if not impossible to get. The program known as ‘CMA Sound Healthcare’ comes from a partnership with Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the National Business Association.

As he takes a break from sound check at a Nashville show last night, the program’s regional director R-J Stillwell says the coverage will be tailored for lifestyles within the industry.

“An artist, a producer, a tour manager, if they’re out on the road and they have a bad flu bug or strep or whatever, they can call a physician 24/7, and the physician will email or fax a prescription to the nearest pharmacy.”

Stillwell says plans can also cover vocal strain from singing and tendonitis from strumming – which might not be covered by typical insurance policies.