Featuring David L. Lander, the comedian who played Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley, and his wife, Kathy Fields Lander. They’re retired actors who are longtime SAG-AFTRA members in Los Angeles. They’re now bracing themselves for dramatic changes to their health plan. That’s a concern in part because David Lander really needs good health coverage.
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Did you hear about the upcoming changes to SAG-AFTRA’s employee-benefit plans? How are union health plans coping with America’s out-of-control healthcare costs? Are retiree health benefits guaranteed for life? David L. Lander, his wife Kathy Fields Lander, and host Brenda Gazzar discuss how changes to SAG-AFTRA’s benefit plans impact long-time union members like them and the complicated, costly insurance alternatives they are left with.
‘HEL-LO’ to healthcare uncertainty says Laverne & Shirley’s Squiggy
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Opening MUSIC – “Talk Back” 10 seconds, fade down
Welcome to Code WACK!, your podcast on America’s broken healthcare system and how Medicare for All could help. I’m your host, Brenda Gazzar.
Today, we’ll talk about changes being made to the SAG-AFTRA health plan and how this is affecting some of their members.
(5-second Stinger music)
Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated! We’re going to do it!
Like millions of Americans, I grew up with the 70s and 80s TV sitcom Laverne and Shirley. You know, the one about the two best friends working at a Milwaukee brewery.
Remember Laverne and Shirley’s goofy neighbors, Lenny and Squiggy? The duo would come barging into their apartment at the most hilarious moments.
Well, I recently spoke with the comedian who played Squiggy, David L. Lander, and his wife, Kathy Fields Lander. They’re retired actors who are longtime SAG-AFTRA members in Los Angeles. They’re now bracing themselves for dramatic changes to their health plan. That’s a concern in part because David Lander really needs good health coverage. He’s had Multiple Sclerosis for 37 years.
David: Hi, Brenda
Hi David, how are you doing?
David: I’m doing relatively well.
Oh, good. Thank you so much for your time. So how do you feel about the upcoming changes to the SAG-AFTRA health plan being that you guys will be essentially kicked off the plan?
David: Well, it’s basically just to use a cliche, like someone pulling out the rug from under you, you know?
You wake up one morning, and say, ‘well, health care is a thing of the past.’ Wasn’t it great that SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) used to have a terrific health plan and they did, but that was many years ago. And now, it’s just a memory.
So let’s back up. (rewind sound) In August, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the SAG-AFTRA trustees made changes to their health plan. As a result, thousands of their members will lose their health plan by the first of the year. For seniors like the Landers who are on Medicare, they’re losing their high-quality supplemental health insurance that they had hoped to have for the rest of their lives.
And what are your biggest concerns or fears about that?
David Lander: Staying alive is No. 1 on my list.
But also, you know, I don’t know what the cuts mean. I mean I know they’re bad but I haven’t really experienced them yet — nobody has — until I think sometime after the first of January. And then I’ll find out.
Then you’ll find out, yeah. When you talk about staying alive, can you share a little bit about how your (union benefits) have helped you stay alive?
David: I have MS. I’ve had MS for 30 whatever years. That’s been invaluable to helping me stay alive, or actually afloat, or surviving. And I’m dependent on them. I’ve put 40 years into the business, well 50 whatever. It doesn’t matter, it might as well be two months because it doesn’t count anymore.
Now, the Landers are scrambling to figure out how they’ll replace the insurance coverage that they’re losing. Here’s Kathy Fields Lander, who is a Medicare for All advocate. She’s also on the board of the California OneCare Education Fund, which is affiliated with this podcast.
Kathy: So now we find ourselves without any secondary insurance, no vision, no dental, and no drug plan starting the first of the year. And what I’m beginning to find out, I mean I always knew insurance was very expensive. But you know, you kind of assume once you’re on Medicare any supplements or secondaries or anything like that would certainly be affordable and they’re not. And that’s what most people don’t realize. It was quite a shock to find out that for us to get ….One, we have to get everything separately. We can’t be like on a spouse plan, or anything like that. So we each end up paying our own Medicare premium, our own supplement premium, each paying our own vision premium, our own dental premium, our own drug premium. That winds up being 10 premiums.
But it basically comes to the tune of about $14,000 a year… For people on a fixed income and people who are retired and not working anymore, suddenly it’s more than sticker shock, it’s panic time.
He’s disabled, he can’t work. I’m 73. I don’t work. We have to spend an extra $14,000 on our fixed income, social security, small pension budget. I mean where do you find that? We still have property taxes, and house expenses and have to live. So you can see where this gets people into medical bankruptcy.
So they’re losing their supplemental health plan. They’re not excited about their secondary plan options. So where does that leave Kathy and David?
Kathy: So you come to a place in your life where you think, “Okay, you know, this is my golden years.” This is a time when although David is really sick, and we really can’t go much of anywhere, you just want to at least have peace of mind that you know you’re going to get good health care.
Well, thank you both so much for your time. I grew up watching Laverne and Shirley and so it’s a pleasure speaking to you. And you know, I hope the situation will resolve one way or another for the best for everyone involved.
David: From your lips to God’s ears!
Stay tuned for more! Find more Code WACK! episodes at ProgressiveVoices.com and on the PV app. You can also subscribe to Code WACK! wherever you find your podcasts. This podcast is powered by HEAL California, uplifting the voices of those fighting for healthcare reform around the country. I’m Brenda Gazzar.
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