What: FREE ACA Information Session (Musicians + Restaurant Workers)
When: Monday, February 2 – 6:30pm – Open to the public
Where: Urban Cannibals Bodega + Bites, 477 Flat Shoals Avenue SE, Atlanta, GA 30316
Register: Just show up or email [email protected]
(Complimentary Bites and Beverages Available)
East Atlanta based deli and local food shop Urban Cannibals Bodega + Bites will host a free Affordable Care Act (ACA) information session for local musicians and restaurant workers on Monday, February 2 at 6:30pm. Complimentary light bites and beverages will be available.
The information session will be lead by ACA navigator Brigid Scarborough of the Health Initiative. Last year, Doria Roberts, who is a musician and who owns and runs Urban Cannibals with her wife chef Calavino Donati, used Scarborough’s services to get insurance through Healthcare.gov with a pre-existing condition before an impending major surgery. Roberts’ $44,000 medical bill was reduced to only $6,000 and that balance was subsequently taken care of by Musicares, a Recording Academy (GRAMMY) organization that provides emergency medical funding for professional musicians in need.
Roberts says: “Even though the whole ordeal was awful, I was really lucky to be able to get insurance but to also have Brigid as a resource. I’m not sure I would have been able to do it without her. I was emotionally overwhelmed by the surgery so it was great to have someone who was knowledgeable and patient to guide me. Before that, I was one of those people who never thought they’d need comprehensive insurance, but now I understand how important it is to be prepared.”
To “pay forward” her grant from Musicares, Roberts made The Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta based organization that gives emergency medical funding to restaurant industry employees in the same way Musicares does for musicians, the beneficiary of her annual birthday party show. The Giving Kitchen was founded by chef Ryan Hidinger and his wife Stephanie when Ryan was diagnosed with cancer.
She continues, “I just thought it was the perfect way to acknowledge my gratitude and to marry the industry I’ve been working for 20 years with the industry that chef Calavino has been working in for 20 years and to get the message out there that these services are available.”
Attendees are encouraged to bring others who may be interested and any questions they may have about the ACA. Brigid will also be booking free individual appointments for those looking to sign up before the February 15th open enrollment deadline.
