The Portrait of Health: An Artist’s Perspective on Health Insurance, Part 1

Two years ago, when artist and fashion designer Megin Sherry returned from London after an internship at haute fashion house Alexander McQueen, her health care coverage on her parents’ plan had lapsed. She began to apply for private insurance, but every provider she talked to rejected her. Sherry says she has chronic bronchitis, which she thinks made her ineligible to the insurance companies. She was 23.

Now 25, Sherry has health insurance. But to get it, she had to start her own company, Megin Sherry Designs, join a business association and create her own insurance plan. The monthly cost of her coverage is roughly what she pays in rent — about $300.

But it’s worth it to Sherry. Her sister died at a young age, and she doesn’t want her parents to shoulder any costs if she gets sick or in an accident.

We talked to Sherry in Washington, D.C., where she was helping install a show at a local gallery.

Editor’s Note: In the first installment of this series, Art Beat talked to Robert Lynch, president of Americans for the Arts, about how the current health care debate affects artists.

Check back on Thursday for Part 2, when we profile a sculptor from Baltimore.