Actors Raise Concerns Over New Union Rules Affecting Healthcare

Several Hollywood actors, including Heather Matarazzo, known for her role in the Princess Diaries, are voicing their concerns about new regulations from the actor’s union that could jeopardize the healthcare benefits of many performers.

Matarazzo, who appeared in the 2025 short film Paper Tiger, recently shared on social media that if she doesn’t secure a paid acting role soon, she risks losing her health insurance due to the updated union requirements, as reported by Variety.

This comment came in response to fellow actor Jack Haven, who highlighted that he is $4,000 short of meeting the annual income threshold of $28,933 necessary to maintain his SAG-AFTRA health insurance.

“I’m in a bit of an emergency situation,” Haven stated in a YouTube video. “I need to make $4,000 by the end of the month in order to qualify for SAG health insurance starting in January.”

The latest SAG-AFTRA contract isn’t fixed at that income level either. According to the agreement, this figure will increase by $900 annually until 2030, meaning actors will need to earn $32,533 per year by then to qualify for the union’s healthcare plan.

Currently, union wages for speaking roles can be as low as $256 a day for low-budget productions, while larger productions with budgets of $2 million or more pay around $1,283 per day.

Matarazzo echoed Haven’s worries, telling her audience, “I am literally in the same boat right now. Lots of my fellow actors are. I remember a time when we didn’t have to earn a minimum to qualify for insurance.”

At 43, Matarazzo has recently been involved in a short film Paint and featured in five episodes of the Netflix series Wednesday in 2025. She is also set to perform in the upcoming production Lore Harbour.

The union initiated a series of reforms years ago to tackle financial issues, yet, as noted by Variety, this means nearly 90 percent of actors no longer have access to the union’s healthcare plans.