Artists who scrape by without health insurance have a new way to pay for medical care: trading their creative talents for medical services. This May, Bushwick’s Woodhull Medical Center launched Artist Access, a pilot health care program for uninsured bohemians. Most of the program’s 70 clients come from the nearby artsy enclaves of Fort Greene and Williamsburg, though people from across the five boroughs are eligible. The first of its kind in the city, Artist Access lets clients offer a proposal for how they’ll donate their talents—perform a dance for patients, paint a mural—and, if approved, receive credits toward care for each hour worked, said Carol Nicholson, the program director. Collaborating with several artist groups that already offer their members health insurance, Woodhull is fine-tuning the program, which currently only offers services onsite. Organizers hope to expand the program to the city’s 16 other public hospitals. [07/11/05]
