The American Association of Independent Music, or A2IM, announced on Tuesday that artists who pay a $99 yearly fee will have access to healthcare benefits, including high-and-low-deductible plans, vision and dental, life insurance, renters’ insurance and even pet insurance. The program will expand from indie labels and other member companies to sole proprietors — “specifically designed for individual artists,” said Lisa Hresko, A2IM’s general manager.

“It’s a lot harder for artists to find available programs. What’s available to you is just more limiting in the U.S. if you do not have an employee-sponsored healthcare program,” Hresko added. “To have that option, whether you’re an artist or 1099 worker, should give you peace of mind.”

The healthcare plans, through the new A2IM Artist Pro program, are similar to Affordable Care Act options, but with “slightly more favorable pricing,” according to Hresko. Low-cost plans are available for $160 per month, or $260 for families, but they vary widely according to age, location and medical history. An average plan for a 40-year-old, relatively healthy individual ranges from $330 to $450 per month on the A2IM benefits website, depending on the deductible, a bit less expensive than a 2023 ACA plan.

In September, when the organization offered plans to its more than 600 indie-label member companies, about 30 signed up. The new program “definitely casts a wider net,” focusing on not just company employees but touring artists and others who have more complicated schedules than 9-to-5 employees.

“It’s exhausting on your physical and mental health to be on the road or keeping off-hours,” Hresko said. “Hopefully something like this gives people confidence and safety.”

After the Obama Administration’s signature healthcare plan became law in 2010, musicians were among the gig workers who suddenly no longer had to worry about insurance companies raising healthcare rates due to preexisting conditions. For most artists, the new A2IM plan will supplement the ACA as an option to achieve prescription drugs and emergency care, among other things. But Republicans have sharply attacked the ACA over the years, and programs like A2IM Artist Pro could be crucially important should the political winds change.

A2IM does not take a cut of the health-insurance payments, according to Hresko: “It’s a service for our members.”

She declined to name the organization’s health-insurance partner, to discourage members and potential members from “working their way around us.” Hresko adds: “We spent years searching for a correct partner. It was not a matter of a lack of trying, but what was available and who was willing to work with us. It took a while.”