<p>Local stand-up comedian Deanna Ortiz juggles multiple gigs to cover her living expenses and bills.</p><p>“I’m always, like, ‘OK, this is going to help cover rent, and that’s going to help cover this bill,’” she said. “By the end of the month, it works out because it has to.”</p><p>One of those bills is the $80 she pays each month for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, known in the state as Get Covered Illinois.</p><p>She is among the local comedians who could benefit from a pilot program being created by the newly formed Health Alliance for Chicago Comedians that would help 10 local comedians pay monthly insurance premiums through the ACA’s next open enrollment period later this year.</p><p>“A lot of my medical anxieties and nervousness, when it comes to healthcare, comes from buying … literal medication that I need to breathe, like an inhaler,” Ortiz said.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-ad0000" name="image-ad0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/268eb98/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5956x3343+0+314/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F20%2F22%2F757a0da042bb82803ec4535886f1%2Facacomedy-260531.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/199aa30/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5956x3343+0+314/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F20%2F22%2F757a0da042bb82803ec4535886f1%2Facacomedy-260531.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/11f010f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5956x3343+0+314/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F20%2F22%2F757a0da042bb82803ec4535886f1%2Facacomedy-260531.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="Deanna Ortiz, a stand-up comic, types on her laptop in her home in Albany Park before performing a comedy show later that evening, Friday, May 22." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/11f010f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5956x3343+0+314/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F20%2F22%2F757a0da042bb82803ec4535886f1%2Facacomedy-260531.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/008a101/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5956x3343+0+314/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F20%2F22%2F757a0da042bb82803ec4535886f1%2Facacomedy-260531.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/11f010f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5956x3343+0+314/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F20%2F22%2F757a0da042bb82803ec4535886f1%2Facacomedy-260531.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Deanna Ortiz, a stand-up comic, needs an inhaler for her asthma, but finding affordable healthcare is a struggle.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Pat Nabong/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>Elizabeth Grossman co-founded the new group after hearing about a similar effort for musicians in Texas. She was taking a stand-up comedy class at the Lincoln Lodge in Chicago at the time and started asking local comedians about their access to healthcare.</p><p>Grossman wants comedians to be part of larger arts advocacy efforts, saying comedy is often an overlooked form of art even though Chicago is known for producing comics who have gone on to a national stage.</p><p>“This is an art form that makes Chicago a unique place, a place people want to live, a place people want to visit,” Grossman said.