Nashville, TN — August 21, 2018 — Music Health Alliance, the music industry’s healthcare advocate, announced today several new hires and promotions at the Nashville-based non-profit.
Experienced healthcare advocate Nikki Viverette, a native of Atlanta, Georgia who has lived in Nashville since 2010, joined Music Health Alliance last week as Director of Advocacy and Insurance. Having most recently served as Health Policy Analyst at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Viverette has worked directly with and advocated for individuals and families trying to access coverage and care under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), TennCare, and CoverKids. In her role as a federally-certified Navigator under the ACA, Nikki also developed curriculum, trained, and provided support to staff at Federally-Qualified Health Centers, as well as other ACA enrollment assisters across the state, and provided education to the public about their options for accessing coverage and care under the ACA. For the last few years, she carried her experience in health advocacy to the field of health policy. There, she drew from her experience in working directly with individuals and families and applied that to her research and writing on Medicaid, health reform, and insurance coverage.
Photo credit: Kayla Schoen
“I’m excited to move back into a role where I can work directly with individuals in a way that educates and empowers them,” says Viverette. “It’s important to me to work with a team committed to advocating for those in need, and I look forward to supporting the music community across the country along with everyone at Music Health Alliance.”
Viverette can be reached at Nikki@musichealthalliance.com.
Viverette succeeds music industry veteran and MHA’s first full-time employee, Kimberly Dunn, who is leaving to spend more time with her family. “Music Health Alliance would like to sincerely thank Kimberly for the last 5 years of dedicated service, encouragement and belief in MHA’s mission,” says Music Health Alliance Founder/CEO, Tatum Hauck Allsep.
Several members of the Music Health Alliance team have received promotions and new titles to represent updated roles and responsibilities as the company readies for open enrollment, Medicare signups and October 19’s Heal The Music Day. Bonita Allen has added group health insurance to her responsibilities and has been promoted to Director of Advocacy, Group and Individual Insurance. In addition, Taylor Clay is promoted to Senior Director of Advocacy and Insurance.
With Allen’s promotion, MHA announces its first full-time group health division. MHA now offers full-service group health insurance for small businesses with a purpose-filled twist. All revenues from MHA’s group health division are deposited directly into the Cowboy Jack Clement Fund providing grants to cover the cost of medical needs not covered by health insurance to music industry professionals experiencing a health crisis. To date, the Cowboy Jack Clement Fund has provided 221 grants totaling over $78,000 in life-saving medical needs.
Photo courtesy Bonita Allen
As advocates, Music Health Alliance fights so those in our industry never have to feel alone in a health crisis. The eight-person team at Music Health Alliance remove obstacles so patients can receive lifesaving care. Thanks to the direct efforts of Music Health Alliance, more than 8,400 members of the music community across 38 states and all genres of music have gained access to life-saving heart, lung, kidney and liver transplants, medications to treat Parkinson’s, end of life care and many other crucial services. Since 2013, Music Health Alliance has saved over $33-million dollars in health care costs including insurance premium savings, medical bill reductions, and discounted medications. Its services are free to any person who has worked in the music industry for two or more years, or who has credited contributions to 4 commercially released recordings or videos. Spouses, partners, and children of qualifying individuals may also receive access to the non-profit’s services from birth to end of life. Learn more at MusicHealthAlliance.com.