By Tim Saccardo One of the biggest national issues in this year's presidential election is also one of the biggest personal issues for actors: health care. In a freelance industry like entertainment, most actors have few options for acquiring health insurance. Some are fortunate enough to get union benefits, others pay out of pocket, and many who cannot afford steadily rising premiums do not have health insurance at all -- a risky proposition when a brief emergency room visit can run up a bill totaling tens of thousands of dollars.Even those actors who qualify for the Screen Actors Guild's health plan one year are at risk of losing those benefits the next if they do not meet the annual earnings minimum of $13,790 or at least 74 days of employment. According to the Department of Labor, the average annual income SAG members earn from acting is less than $5,000. But SAG is one union determined not to leave its members out in the cold. For the fifth year, the guild's HealthCare SafetyNet committee is holding its free Health Fair for all union members May 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at the guild's headquarters in Hollywood."The SafetyNet committee started during the Clinton [administration]. We survived through Bush, and all politicians seem to do is talk," said Reneé Aubry, national chair of the committee and a member of the guild's national board of directors. "We began as a research committee on alternative insurance. What came out of that was the realization that it was going to take a long time until [our country] achieved national health care. So in the meantime, the SafetyNet committee could provide some much needed services to our community."Our Health Fair is to help those who are underinsured and uninsured and in those years in which they do not qualify for insurance," explained Aubry, who organizes the event. "This year we're having HIV testing for the first time. We have massage therapy, body-fat analysis, skin-cancer exams, blood-pressure consultation. We have a podiatrist; we have dental awareness. Now we're even bringing on board some medical health service clinics: nutrition and weight control, Pap smear referral, and prostate referral. We're covering the entire spectrum of the body, inside and out, from head to toe."
With a turnout of more than 750 people last year, Aubry has seen the Health Fair grow in leaps and bounds from its modest origins. "At first, because we didn't have a budget, we just brought in the Red Cross to give blood pressure screenings before our membership meetings.... Now [the fair] is in both the Cagney and the AFTRA boardrooms, and we're out on the street as well at the same time."At this year's fair, the number of provider groups will number nearly 30, and there will be more than 100 participating physicians and support staff donating their time and services. One medical professional who has volunteered at every Health Fair from the beginning is podiatrist Dr. Richard M. Cooper. "I always enjoy interacting with the members within the industry and am happy to offer my services," said Cooper, who will once again be providing free foot screenings. "I will be using the aid of foot models, foot bones, and medical brochures. My objective is to answer any questions [actors] may have as well as inform and educate members regarding their conditions with the options available to them. I feel it's very important to provide this service regarding their health care issues, regardless of their insurance status."Aubry also emphasized the event's confidentiality: "These are all medical professionals, and everything is held in the strictest privacy. There are no pictures allowed to be taken of the members because many members do not like [the public] to know that they're not making their insurance [minimum]."The Health Fair is open to all industry union members and their dependents," Aubry said. "AFTRA has been invited, Actors' Equity, the Writers Guild, the casting directors -- anyone can come who is in the industry."
With a turnout of more than 750 people last year, Aubry has seen the Health Fair grow in leaps and bounds from its modest origins. "At first, because we didn't have a budget, we just brought in the Red Cross to give blood pressure screenings before our membership meetings.... Now [the fair] is in both the Cagney and the AFTRA boardrooms, and we're out on the street as well at the same time."At this year's fair, the number of provider groups will number nearly 30, and there will be more than 100 participating physicians and support staff donating their time and services. One medical professional who has volunteered at every Health Fair from the beginning is podiatrist Dr. Richard M. Cooper. "I always enjoy interacting with the members within the industry and am happy to offer my services," said Cooper, who will once again be providing free foot screenings. "I will be using the aid of foot models, foot bones, and medical brochures. My objective is to answer any questions [actors] may have as well as inform and educate members regarding their conditions with the options available to them. I feel it's very important to provide this service regarding their health care issues, regardless of their insurance status."Aubry also emphasized the event's confidentiality: "These are all medical professionals, and everything is held in the strictest privacy. There are no pictures allowed to be taken of the members because many members do not like [the public] to know that they're not making their insurance [minimum]."The Health Fair is open to all industry union members and their dependents," Aubry said. "AFTRA has been invited, Actors' Equity, the Writers Guild, the casting directors -- anyone can come who is in the industry."
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