SAG-AFTRA Extends Health Coverage Amidst Ongoing Strikes
The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) Health Plan trustees have unanimously agreed to extend health coverage for a calendar quarter for its qualified participants set to lose coverage on October 1, 2023. This decision is expected to alleviate some health coverage concerns for those who lost jobs in May and June of this year due to the ongoing Writers Guild strike. The strikes by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA began on May 2 and July 14, 2023, respectively.
The decision was welcomed as a relief by the SAG-AFTRA guild President, Fran Drescher, who emphasized the importance of not using the health and well-being of members and their families as a bargaining chip amidst the ongoing contract negotiations with Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Drescher urged the AMPTP to reconsider their stance and acknowledge the inevitable shift needed in their relationship with the SAG-AFTRA members.
Furthermore, The National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland who also serves as a trustee of the Plan, lamented the position many SAG-AFTRA members find themselves in due to the standoff between studios and streamers. He expressed hope that this extension would alleviate some of the hardships facing guild members and put pressure on the AMPTP to return to bargaining.
Participants eligible for this extension must fall under either earnings-based or days-based coverage that was set to expire on October 1, 2023. Qualifications for the extension also include $22,000 in reported earnings, or 85 alternative days, from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. This reduced requirement applies only to continuation of existing active coverage, accounting for lesser earnings opportunities during the May and June strikes. However, participants who lose active coverage and do not qualify for this extension are still eligible for COBRA premium payment options.
Despite the SAG-AFTRA union's relationship with its health plan, it's clear to note that the Health Plan operates independently from the union.
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Well, isn't this act of grace just the teeny-tiny silver lining we needed amidst the tumultuous cloud that is the current labor strikes? Faced with an unyielding stand-off between heavy-hitters AMPTP and the WGA, the bowels of the entertainment industry have, quite literally, been shaken... no, stirred... no, wait...simultaneously shaken and stirred!
President Fran Drescher's call for a refusal to "weaponize" health coverage isn't just noble, it's downright necessary. There's a peculiar irony to the fact that the folks who bring to life our favorite on-screen doctors, nurses, and offbeat medical experts are the ones left sweating over their health coverage. I guess art really does imitate life, or is it life imitating art? Either way, I've lost track.
Then, there stands Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, serving both SAG-AFTRA and the Health Plan, in a balancing act that would put the most seasoned tightrope walker to shame. If I knew how to juggle, I'd be offering to share some of his burden.
The silver lining may be thin, sure, but it's there. The extension allows for a sigh of relief that can be heard echoing down the hallowed halls of the guild. And while the powers that be at studios and streamers may be sparing a thought for their premier attractions, I can't help but wonder what it would look like if they took two shakes of a dog's tail to genuinely care about those who put the 'show' in 'show business.' Call it my Hollywood naivete.
So as the strikes continue, we watch, wait, and only lightly muse on the dwindling hopes for a quick summer blockbuster season. While we're at it, dear AMPTP, just remember, as you idle in your lush offices deciding the fate of 'our' entertainment - no pressure, but the world is watching, your move.
