I heard recently that Denny Laine is having some health issues, so his wife started a Go Fund Me page to help cover his medical costs. They’ve raised about $41,000 so far. She says he doesn’t have health insurance.
There’s also a benefit concert scheduled, which includes a few members of Wings not named McCartney, plus Mickey Dolenz, Peter Asher, and a few others.
Now how is it that a guy like Denny Laine can’t afford health insurance, or can’t afford to pay his medical bills? He has to still have some Wings or Moody Blues money laying around, right? Plus, isn’t he English and doesn’t he have access to their healthcare? Casual Googling shows the dude’s net worth is about 10 million.
Because he was constantly on tour (I assume he was paid well for being in Wings), wrote or co-wrote on several high-selling albums, has continued recording over the years, and the net worth that I found on him shows he’s worth about 10 mil. I assume much of that money came from Wings and Moody Blues.
ETA: But that’s why I started this thread. To ask about this. I’m just surprised a high-profile rock performer needs a go fund me to pay his medical bills.
The answers are either he wasted a huge amount of money over the years or it is a scam. Many successful performers do find many ways to waste a lot of money.
The other question is can he go home to the UK instead of appealing for money. Apparently he lives in Florida.
Musicians and songwriters of that era had a bad habit of signing away their royalties when in need of quick cash or getting pet projects off the ground. Many die destitute. I’m not saying that’s the case with Denny Laine, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
He’s 78 years old - if he paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years ( and he would have paid them even if he was self-employed and living in the US for 10 years) Medicare covers rehab possibly subject to a deductible and/or copay. It may be that his wife expects him to be in rehab for an extended period and they won’t be able to afford the copy/deductible.
According to a couple of articles I found, he isn’t medically able to travel and therefore can’t go to the UK.
He doesn’t have a ton of song credits for that long a career, and as best I can tell, none of them are big hits. (and he was only with the Moodies before they hit it big)
According to Wikipedia, he co-wrote some Wings songs, but that doesn’t mean they were the popular ones. As a rule of thumb, the person who owns the publishing rights on the hits makes the money, not the musicians in the band. Add to that the fact that royalties are nothing now compared to what they once were, which is why so many famous artists have sold their catalogs in recent years.
Then there’s the fact that he left Wings in 1981 and has done mostly smaller projects over the last 40 years. I suspect he doesn’t have nearly as much as is being speculated. And in the American health care system, I suspect his medical costs are enormous if he doesn’t have insurance.
I’m going to try to avoid the victim blaming, because I have no idea -why- he has no health insurance, but granted our unspeakable costs for medical care in the US… With three reported surgeries including a collapsed lung, I can very easily see the costs going from painful to catastrophic especially as the issues have been going on since last year (so 10 months or so minimum).
And the reports (largely self reported tbf) that the hospital is working with them, but the rehab center won’t is probably the proverbial last straw.
Do I want to know WHY he had no health insurance? Yes, but I know plenty of people, young and old who look at the costs and say some variation of “if it gets bad, just put me down” until, of course, something goes wrong and they get a scare, ideally survivable.
So, to summarize I can see myself simultaneously berating the foolish past Denny Laine (pending investigation for the reasons), while being sympathetic for the current Denny Laine.
Those kind of “Net Worth” valuations can be really misleading. They tend to include things like “Brand” or the purported value of his name, which is basically a made-up number. He probably has the potential to earn by doing a memoir or commercials, but is he physically able?
It probably also includes the current value of his home, which he may have bought dirt cheap 30 years ago but is now into the millions in value. Horrible to think of his family having to sell and move while trying to process his medical troubles.
In real terms, after taxes, etc. Even $10M on the market will net a reliable income of about $320,000 per year. And while that’s a lot in some areas, it won’t get you a two bedroom condo in SF or NYC. Is he in Miami? Also tough. And medical costs can reach $20k per day easily. A million dollars ain’t what it used to be.
The last thing a man of his age wants is to spend the principle and leave his wife grieving, elderly, and bankrupt. So yeah, it’s not terribly surprising.
As for Medicare, it’s not the best coverage, and it destroys your ability to shop around and get good prices. The moment a provider or pharmacy finds out you have coverage, you are nailed down to the price that insurance has negotiated - and in the case of Medicare, they haven’t done a good job of it. It leaves a lot of people choosing between food and medicine.
e.g. There are medications you could buy for $4, but if they know you have Medicare, they have to charge you the $50 copay. It’s the same for services.
