Ed Asner and Others Sue SAG-AFTRA Health Plan Over Benefit Cuts for Seniors

Variety reports that actor Ed Asner and nine other plaintiffs are suing the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) Health Plan and its trustees in federal court over looming cuts to benefits and eligibility. The plaintiffs claim two counts of breach of fiduciary duty, one count of engaging in a prohibited transaction, and one count of failing to report information material to plan participants. The suit states that Asner will lose his coverage, even though he had more than $25,950 in yearly covered earnings with residuals and sessional earnings, because he will not meet the new qualifying threshold by sessional earnings that goes into effect next year. The health plan informed members that it would hike the earnings floor for eligibility from $18,040 annually to $25,950 starting Jan. 1, and trustees said without restructuring, the plan was forecasting a $141 million deficit this year and $83 million in 2021. Critics have calculated that the changes stripped coverage for about 11,750 of 32,000 participants, including 8,200 seniors. Participant-only quarterly costs will rise from $300 to $375, while participant plus one dependent costs will climb from $348 to $531, and participant plus two or more dependents will go from $375 to $747. The suit charges trustees with mismanaging the plan, adding that their blaming the COVID-19 pandemic "ignores the facts and readily available measures that could have addressed such a one-time event without dramatically ending SAG-AFTRA health coverage for primarily older participants."