FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2013
Contact: Johanna Tschebull
Phone: 202.833.1717
Washington, DC – Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance, is pleased to announce the 2014 Dance Forum: Dancing Our Way Through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At this convening, Dance/USA will examine the ACA and how it impacts dancemakers based across the country, with sessions led by experts in policy, health insurance, and dance. Additionally, the Dance Forum will include Dance/USA updates for the year ahead and serve as a valuable networking time for the dance field. The 2014 Dance Forum will take place Friday, January 10, 2014 from 9:00am – 12:00pm at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City and is FREE and open to the public.
“Dance/USA is dedicated to empowering the dance field to comply with the new law. Many of our dancemakers are working without health insurance – but if the dancemakers miss the federal deadline to enroll, they will be fined $95 or 1% of income (whichever is greater) in 2014” commented Dance/USA Executive Director Amy Fitterer. “The rollout complications with healthcare.gov have been a distraction. The reality is that the deadline to enroll is still March 31, 2014 or risk paying a penalty fee.”
The 2014 Dance Forum will feature four expert speakers: Sarah Dash, The Center on Health Insurance Reform, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute; Eric Rettig, Small Business Majority; Renata Marinaro, The Actors Fund; and Brandon Gryde, Dance/USA and OPERA America. Read more about the expert speakers here.
The main program will consist of two parts. Part I will be dedicated to an overview of the ACA led by Dash, including a discussion of the ACA’s implications on the dance field, and general implementation timelines and details. The second half of the morning will allow for in-depth conversations for small organizations, led by Rettig, and another session for independent artists, led by Marinaro. The morning will provide relevant information to dancemakers based across the country. There will be a Q&A session at the conclusion of the ACA overview as well as at the end of each breakout session.
Following the Dance Forum, Dance/USA is proud to partner with Dance/NYC and the Actors Fund to offer Dance Enrollment Days in conjunction with the 2014 Dance Forum. New York based artists will have the opportunity to enroll in the New York state exchange, New York State of Health, on January 13-14, 2014 from 10am – 5pm. Three locations will be available for enrollment consultations:
The Actors Fund recommends that artists begin the enrollment process prior to any consultation during Dance Enrollment Days.
The 2014 Dance Forum will take place at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference. Details are below.
When January 10, 2014, 9am – Noon
Where New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas at 54th St., New York, NY 10019
Cost FREE, APAP Registration is not required
Videos of the sessions will be posted on the Dance/USA website in the days following the Dance Forum.
About Dance/USA
Dance/USA is the national service organization for the professional dance field. Established in 1982, Dance/USA serves a diverse national membership of over 490 dance groups working in the genres of aerial, ballet, contemporary, culturally-specific, hip-hop, ice, international, jazz, liturgical, single-choreographer, and tap, dance presenters, dance service organizations, dance agents, dance educators, independent dancers, freelance choreographers, students of arts administration and/or dance and business in service to dance, and individuals related to the field. Learn more about Dance/USA by visiting our website, www.danceusa.org.
