D.G.A.
Update, 4:38 p.m.: Directors of the DGA Pension and Health Plan today voted to expand access to free primary health plans for participants who lost coverage due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Those who choose it now are eligible for coverage through March 31st, as long as they remain on their plan through December 31st.
Please read below for details.
The DGA supports the board’s decision, Guild President Leslie Linka Glatter said in a statement. By extending these coverage periods and making healthcare available to more participants, the plan’s leadership is investing in the long-term well-being of his DGA family. ”
Previously on August 7th: The DGA Pension and Health Plan Board of Governors has approved a free primary health plan for participants who have lost coverage due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
“The DGA Producer Pension and Health Plan Board of Directors Votes Unanimously to Create a Critically Important Free Major Health Plan for Health Plan Participants and Their Eligible Dependents Financially Impacted by Work Stoppages.” We are proud to announce this approval,” said DGA Chair Leslie Linka Glatter. “This innovative initiative by the plan’s governing boards will help plan participants facing financial hardship maintain basic health coverage during this difficult time.”
The new DGA benefits follow a similar move by the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan for members of IATSE, Teamsters Local 399 and several other unions, which recently Requirements to qualify for health insurance have been relaxed. “To assist participants and dependents affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.”
This means that among Hollywood’s major health plans, the WGA and SAG- Only AFTRA members will not receive similar protections. Carol Lombardini, president of the Motion Picture and Television Producers Alliance, which SAG-AFTRA and the WGA oppose, serves on the boards of all four major P&H plans.
The Frequently Asked Questions page on the WGA’s strike site states, “There is no health fund requirement for health plans to expand health insurance coverage during a strike, and the governing board is 50% management and 50% Guild.” ” is written. If you lose coverage during the strike, you may be eligible for extended benefits under COBRA. ” The WGA has been on strike since May 2nd.
SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14, and its members also face loss of health insurance. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the guild’s national executive director, said in a recent podcast that during the strike, “the eligibility requirements remain the same as far as health and pensions are concerned.” We would like to adjust these requirements or make special exceptions, but as many of our members undoubtedly know, pension and health plans are run by joint boards of directors. Half of that is controlled by studios and streamers, i.e. management. Therefore, there is no prospect that these trustees will agree to adjust the eligibility requirements. ”
The new benefits of DGA’s P&H Plan are available to participants and their eligible dependents who meet certain eligibility requirements. Major Medical Plus plans offer limited-network medical coverage with certain benefit exclusions and prescription drug benefits.
Strike-related Major Medical Plus Plans will initially be offered for three months from October 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, but future quarters of eligibility will be forfeited in the event of a strike. We are considering a decision to be made later. This provides the following benefits:
- In-network coverage including mental health and substance abuse benefits
- Prescription drug coverage
- Emergency services (with specific guidance regarding out-of-network providers)
Hearing aids, chiropractic, acupuncture, and foot orthotic devices are excluded from Major Medical Plus plans, as are dental benefits, vision benefits, and special agreements with UCLA Health/EIMG.
To qualify for the Major Medical Plus plan, members must be working under a master contract or a freelance live and tape television contract and meet one of the following requirements:
- From October 1, 2023, for the applicable service period from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, if you lose earned active or regular carryover compensation as of June 30, 2023. Members and eligible dependents who do not have sufficient income to requalify and have at least $10,000 in initial compensation during a period of service from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023; DGA-Producer Health Plan is the main plan.or
- If you lose earned active or regular carryover compensation as of September 30, 2023 and become requalified starting October 1, 2023, for the applicable service period from July 1, 2022 to June 30, Members and their eligible dependents who did not have sufficient income in 2023 and had an initial compensation of at least $10,000 during a period of service from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, and who were DGA- The Producer Health Plan is the main plan.
Eligible participants may include eligible dependents during the coverage period of the Major Medical Plus Plan. Eligible participants in the Major Medical Plus Plan will receive a letter from the Health Plan with information on how to select coverage.
