A major concern among Americans is their lack of access to affordable insurance and appropriate health care. This issue is especially relevant to artists and small arts organizations who experience difficulty in obtaining and keeping insurance. Because many artists do not receive health insurance through employment, and do not qualify for needs-based insurance, they frequently fall between the cracks

The AHIRC database was created in 1998 by The Actors Fund, with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, as a health insurance resource for artists and people in the entertainment industry.

With support from TheCommonwealth Fund, the AHIRC database has expanded to include resources for the self-employed, low-income workers, the under-insured, the uninsured who require medical care and many other groups.

With the most recent grant from TheCommonwealth Fund, six graduate students, mentored by public health policy analysts and coordinated by an Actors Fund staff member, are currently participating in a year-long program to research additional resources and add them to the AHIRC website.