#Directors Guild Approves New Medical Plan to Help Eligible Members Amid Strikes

The Directors Guild of America has introduced a free major medical plan for eligible members amid the ongoing strikes.

The union announced on Monday that the Board of Trustees for the DGA’s Producer Pension and Health Plans unanimously approved the new plan, which will offer network-only medical coverage for participants and their eligible dependents.

“I am proud to announce that the DGA-PPHP Board of Trustees has unanimously approved the creation of a critically important free major medical plan for Health Plan participants and their eligible dependents who have been financially impacted by the work stoppage,” newly re-elected DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter said in a statement. “This innovative effort by the Plans’ trustees will help Plan participants facing financial hardship retain basic health coverage during this difficult time.”

The strike-related plan will be offered initially from Oct. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2023. An extension of the coverage would be considered if the work stoppages continue. The benefits include:

Network coverage, including mental health and substance abuse benefits
Prescription drug coverage
Emergency Services (with specific guidance regarding non-network providers)

Find more details on what the plan covers and who qualifies here.

In June, 87 percent of Directors Guild members voted to ratify their agreement that union negotiators struck with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers earlier in the month. But the Writers Guild has been on strike since the beginning of May after their contract negotiations faltered with studios and steamers. And then in July, actors joined writers on the picket lines when SAG-AFTRA also failed to reach an agreement with the AMPTP.

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