Emeka Rollas, the National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), voices apprehension regarding the reluctance of certain Nollywood actors to enroll in the guild’s nationwide health insurance plan for members.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, he explained that the guild has established robust Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) that offer members standard health insurance coverage on a monthly basis, including work insurance coverage.
In response to the growing trend of ailing celebrities resorting to social media for financial support, the AGN leader highlights the existence of an established insurance plan for guild members.
He said, ‘We have health management cover with HMOs, which give access to over 600 hospitals across the country and then we have the out-of-production insurance cover.’
‘The out-of-production covers accidents on production like you have an accident on set or somebody dies.’
‘For the HMO, the minimum subscription is N1,700 per month, and you can do three months, six months, or even quarterly.’
‘Besides the standard health insurance, which deals with minor issues, there are comprehensive covers which a member can get from the HMOs at subsidised rate because of AGN’s relationship with them.’
‘But of course, AGN is not a company where members are paid monthly salary that can be deducted ahead, so, members have to show commitment and willingness by paying their premiums.’
Rollas expressed disappointment that, despite the guild’s unwavering commitment to actors’ welfare, a significant number were unwilling to sign up with the HMOs, and some who had subscribed were neglecting their premium payments.
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He pointed out that some individuals seeking public funds did not enroll in the guild’s healthcare plans.
However, he appealed to Nigerians, especially fans of Nigerian actors, to refrain from turning celebrities’ health issues into a contentious topic by involving their families and the guild.
He said, ‘Some actors are not interested in insurance, while many have the celebrity mentality that everything should be done for them for free.’
‘They want to wake up one morning and hear that a Health Management Organisation has paid for them to be going to the hospital whenever they are sick.’
‘The truth is that people get sick every day, but since actors are celebrities, their own tend to attract attention.’
‘That is why we discourage people from going to social media to ask for help, as we can work on it from an administrative point of view and you see real genuine supporters coming out.’
‘I, therefore, use this medium to appeal to young actors to sign up for the AGN HMO and insurance programmes,’ Rollas said.