Bill means jobless performers can keep health insurance

Published Friday 1 October 2004 at 13:15 by Judd Hollander

Workers in the entertainment industry who leave their jobs but keep paying premiums will be allowed to keep their health insurance thanks to a $3.75 million subsidy bill added to the 1985 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) by New York State governor George Pataki. The new measure, titled the New York State Insurance Continuation Assistance Demonstration Project, will go in to effect in late November.

COBRA was created to allow employees who left their jobs, for whatever reason, to keep their health insurance through their former employer’s medical plan for up to 18 months, as long as the worker paid the premiums themselves. However, due to the rising costs of health care, many former workers were unable to make the payments, especially in the entertainment industry, where many workers have incomes below the federal poverty level.

Under the new bill individuals whose previous year’s net income was at or below the poverty level will be have 50% of their COBRA premiums paid for up to a year. The funds for the bill will come from HealthyNY, a $200 million programme offering health insurance to uninsured employees of small businesses and self-employed workers.

The bill’s passage marks the culmination of nearly four years of lobbying by the major New York and national entertainment unions. Among those working for the legislation were Actors’ Equity, The Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the American Federation of Musicians Local 802, co-ordinated by the Actors Fund of America.