[Forum] Important / Need letters

[Joshua Field]

i'm forwarding this important request for letters urging lawmakers to 
consider "adjusted gross income" (income after business expenses) 
instead of the currently proposed "gross income" (income before business 
expenses) when requiring individuals to carry mandatory insurance. 
please consider sending a letter as outlined below to 
afinfo at artistsfoundation.org. thanks!

Greetings,

As many of you know, the Artists Foundation has been working very hard on the 
Health care reform law implementation. I am emailing you because we need 
letters from Individual artists working in all disciplines and also from Arts 
organization and small business owners.  EVEN IF YOU HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE.. your 
letter is needed (i.e. there may be a time that you don't have insurance 
and/or you know people who don't have it)

I asking you to write a letter/email and send it to me by May 30 - so I can 
make copies and distribute them to the policy makers.

email it to afinfo at artistsfoundation.org

I will edit or proofread your letter/email if you want me to.

Thank you for doing this!

Kathleen Bitetti
Artist
Executive Director
Artists Foundation


Below is the information to refer to in your letter/email.

BACKGROUND:


Presently, the Connector Authority, the state agency charged with 
implementing the Health Care Reform Law, has issued DRAFT regulations on how the 
Department of Revenue is to assess if someone is exempt from the individual mandate - 
the mandate that requires people to purchase health insurance.  


The only measure they are planning to use to assess someone's income level is 
GROSS income only.  This is highly problematic for artists, the 
self-employed, and small business owners and is clearly going to negatively impact the 
artist community, the self employed, and small business owners.  It is our 
adjusted gross income that should be the measure (after business exemptions line 22 
on the Federal Income tax form).


In the DRAFT Regulations "Determining Affordability for the Individual 
Mandate (956 CMR 6.00)"  it says: 


Gross Income: the total money earned or unearned, such as wages, salaries, 
rents, pensions, or interest, received from any source without regard to 
deductions.


-----------------

The Connector has  published the following information:  


Any individual with an annual GROSS income of $50,001 or more will be deemed 
to be able to afford health insurance.


Any couple with an annual GROSS income of $80,001 or more will be deemed to 
be able to afford health insurance.  


Any family with an annual GROSS income of $110,001 or more will be deemed to 
be able to afford health insurance.  


______________________________________

EXAMPLE LETTER/INFO to include:

WHO you need to write your letter to:

Dear Members of the Connector Board and Executive Director Kingsdale

Make sure you sign/list your full name, affiliation, title, and/or identify 
what kind of artists you are, and list your home town/city
------------

SAMPLE of what to include in your email- form letters are not helpful so 
please put it  in your words..

Dear Members of the Connector Board and Executive Director Kingsdale,

I am writing in regard to DRAFT Regulations "Determining Affordability for 
the Individual Mandate (956 CMR 6.00).  The current definition you are using for 
assessing a person's income is highly problematic for artists, the self 
employed and small business owners (YOU can refer only to one or all of those 
entities listed).

Gross income, as it is defined in these regulations needs to be changed. A 
better and fairer definition to use is: adjusted gross income (line 22 on the 
federal personal Income tax form). 

THEN explain why after business income deductions is the better to use 
rather than one's gross income -i.e., artists, self-employed, have to pay out a 
significant amount of their income to produce their work- studio space, 
materials, practice space, marketing, etc...  and that these are not optional expenses.

One artist who testified at a recent public hearing on this issue stated : 
"if you keep this definition of gross income as the measure, you are sending a 
clear and loud message to the artists of Massachusetts to leave the state"


End with something along the lines of:  thank you for considering this needed 
change for the regulations.


PLEASE PUT THE LETTER IN YOUR OWN WORDS- AS FORM LETTERS ARE NOT THAT HELPFUL.


-- 

// www.joshuafield.com
// joshua at joshuafield.com
// +1 [413] 329-4789
// 121 Union Street, Studio 1E
// North Adams, MA 01247 USA