On This Page: Disability, Full Time Students, Extended Coverage Program, $250,000 Extension, COBRA

If you or a dependent are totally disabled at the time coverage ends, benefits may be extended to you and/or your dependent at no additional cost* under the Fund's Total Disability Benefit for a limited time. Please click onto the link for a full description of this benefit.

* Dependent premiums and/or same sex domestic partner tax payments may still be required.

Unmarried children who are younger than age 23 who are full-time students in an institution of higher learning and are dependent upon you for full support may continue their coverage as long as verification of full-time status is provided every term. The Fund will automatically notify you in writing when the full-time student verification is needed. This request will include a student verification form which must to be completed by they school's Registrar's office and COBRA continuation coverage information should your child not meet the criteria for continued coverage as a full-time student.

Beginning April 1, 2000 Writers were credited with points for each year of regular, employer-paid eligibility commencing on and after January 1, 1990. Writers are able to accumulate up to a maximum of fifty (50) points. Under this program, the Health Plan awards points for a Writer’s past and future participation as follows:

One point for each four quarter eligibility cycle ending on or after September 30, 1989 which resulted in Health Fund eligibility;

One additional point for each four quarter earnings cycle ending on or after September 30, 1989 during which the writer earned at least $100,000* in covered compensation as reported to the Health Fund

One additional point awarded for each four quarter earnings cycle ending on or after September 30, 1989 during which the writer earned at least $200,000* or more in covered compensation as reported to the Health Fund.

*please refer to the point threshold chart below for all point threshold increases after September 30, 1989.

In summary, a Writer may earn up to three points for each year of employer paid Health Fund coverage earned, beginning January 1, 1990.

If a Writer loses eligibility due to failure to earn sufficient compensation within his or her earnings cycle, and has accumulated at least 10 points at any time, the Writer will automatically be placed in the Extended Coverage Program and will be notified of such. Although the Writer must have 10 points to be eligible for the Extended Coverage Program, based upon their state of residence, there are up to four different benefit plans available with point values ranging from 2.5 to 1.5 points per quarter.

For each quarter that a participant receives benefits under this program, the applicable number of points will be deducted from their point balance. This process will continue until: 1) the participant regains employer-paid eligibility; or 2) the participant retires under the Producer-Writers Guild of America Pension Plan as a Certified Retiree; or 3) there are an insufficient number of points available for continuation in the program. Note: As long as a participant has at least 1.5 points remaining, he or she will be granted one last quarter of coverage in the plan then in effect. If all points are exhausted and eligibility is not regained, the participant and all eligible dependents will be offered COBRA Continuation Coverage. (Same-Sex Domestic Partners have no independent right to participate in the COBRA program individually but may continue to be covered as a dependent under the Writers’ COBRA entitlement.)

Extended Coverage Program Point Threshold Chart

Health Fund coverage will be provided for an additional year to certain Writers who earn $250,000 or more in gross covered compensation in one earnings cycle, but who would otherwise lose coverage because they did not earn enough compensation in the next earnings cycle to be eligible. To provide this additional eligibility, the earnings of $250,000 in compensation shall be deemed allocated equally between each of two consecutive earnings cycles. This extension of coverage is done systematically and no action is required from the Writer.

The benefit described in the above paragraph will be extended to cover bona fide, two-person writing teams that meet the same earnings criteria for eligibility cycles beginning on and after January 1, 2005. Only income earned as part of the team will be considered. This is not an automatic extension. If you feel you qualify for this extension, please contact the Eligibility Department of the Fund office.

COBRA allows you to continue medical/hospital, dental, prescription and vision coverage for you and your eligible dependents beyond the date your employer paid coverage ends by paying monthly premiums for the continued coverage.

When a “Qualifying Event” occurs, and the Administrative Office has been notified, a notice of termination, which includes COBRA information will be sent to you or your eligible dependent (excluding same sex domestic partners). If you or your eligible dependent wishes to elect to pay for COBRA continuation coverage, you must respond within 60 days after the later of:

• The date coverage terminates; or
• The date you were notified by the Administrative Office of your continuation coverage privilege.

Situations called “Qualifying Events” resulting in entitlement to COBRA continuation coverage and the duration of the continued coverage are shown in the chart below:

* 24 months if in the last five years the active participant had at least two years of earned eligibility.
** Proof of eligibility for Social Security disability benefits is required for continuation of the additional 11 months of coverage.

Please note: It is your responsibility to notify the Administrative Office of a divorce, legal separation or child’s loss of dependent status within 60 days after the date the event occurred. Notification includes submission of court documents or any other pertinent information. If notification is received later than 60 days of the event, the spouse or dependent child will be ineligible to purchase COBRA continuation coverage.

COBRA continuation coverage is not available to same sex domestic partners. If the participant elects COBRA continuation coverage for him/herself and chooses to add the same sex domestic partner, then the domestic partner shall continue to be covered. The domestic partner shall not have his/her own COBRA rights and coverage will depend entirely on the participant covering the domestic partner as his/her dependent.