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IATSE National Health and Welfare FundUsing the IATSE National Health and Welfare Fund for virtual outpatient treatment.
The IATSE National Health and Welfare Fund covers stagehands, cinematographers, editors, costume, hair and makeup, sound, and the rest of the IATSE crafts across both Eastern and Western regions, on Plan C-1 and Plan C-2 tiers. Your plan is unique. We verify yours specifically before you commit to anything.
The honest version.
We are out of network with commercial carriers. In-network credentialing is in progress. We verify your out-of-network benefits and tell you the real out-of-pocket number before you start.
What we will and will not tell you about cost.
We do not waive cost-shares. We do not tell you treatment is free. We verify your OON benefits, give you the real number, and if cost is a genuine barrier we will talk about it case by case.
Hours-based eligibility, Plan C-1 and Plan C-2.
The IATSE National Health and Welfare Fund is hours-based. Hours you work under qualifying IATSE contracts feed eligibility for the Fund's coverage windows. Once eligible, you are on Plan C-1 or Plan C-2 depending on hours accrued and contractual category. Both tiers include comprehensive medical and behavioral health for members and enrolled dependents across the Eastern and Western regions. As industry funds go, the IATSE National Fund tends to offer a relatively generous out-of-network behavioral health benefit, but every member's specific deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum is unique to their plan year and tier. We pull yours before you start.
The pieces of the plan
- An allowed amount for each kind of visit or day of behavioral care.
- A deductible you meet before the plan starts splitting the cost.
- A coinsurance split after the deductible.
- An out-of-pocket maximum for the year, after which the plan covers more or all.
- An authorization step for intensive outpatient and PHP-intensity hour expansion, which we handle.
What we do for you on the benefits side
- Call the IATSE National Fund and the behavioral administrator on your behalf to pull the actual out-of-network behavioral numbers for the level of care you need.
- Translate them into the dollar cost of a week of treatment, so there are no surprises.
- Submit the authorization and stay on the case through review and renewal.
- Bill what the plan considers reasonable, so there is no balance-bill surprise later.
Where the work is and where you are.
IATSE crew jobs do not always sit still. Crews travel, locals overlap, and a member can rack up hours across multiple contracts in a given year. The Fund is national, the work is local, and the schedule is unpredictable. The two paths below cover the most common starting points for a member who is thinking about treatment.
The typical OON shape
For a member with active coverage under the Fund, the out-of-network behavioral benefit usually includes a separate OON deductible, a coinsurance split after the deductible, an out-of-pocket maximum that caps the year, and an authorization step for intensive outpatient. We pull the exact numbers from the Fund and tell you what a typical week of treatment will cost before you commit.
Start the benefit check A dependent on a member's planSpouse or eligible child
Enrolled dependents have the same behavioral benefit as the member while the member is in coverage. If you are the spouse or adult child of an IATSE member looking up treatment for someone you love, we verify the dependent's benefits the same way we verify a member's. We can also help you frame the conversation with the member, on your timeline.
Start the benefit checkTreatment that does not pause your work.
Every cohort runs in a morning, afternoon, or evening track. Sessions are virtual. Treatment can travel with you on a location job within California, hold through a hiatus, and resume around a new schedule. We keep your case manager and the people who need to know looped in on the cadence they ask for, within the limits of 42 CFR Part 2 and your signed authorization. Nothing about your treatment goes to a production company, a department head, a UPM, or a local without your written consent.
Plain-English answers.
How does hours-based eligibility actually work?
Hours worked under qualifying IATSE contracts feed eligibility on a rolling basis. The Fund looks at a defined qualifying period and uses the hours banked in that period to determine your coverage window and your tier (Plan C-1 or Plan C-2). The mechanics differ by region and category, so we pull your actual eligibility status from the Fund during the benefit check so you know exactly where you stand before you start.
What about a dependent? My spouse or adult child needs help.
Enrolled dependents on the IATSE National Fund, including a spouse and eligible children, have the same behavioral health benefit as the member while the member is in coverage. We verify the dependent's benefits the same way we verify a member's. The benefit check is the same two-minute path.
Can I do telehealth from a location job?
Yes, with one rule: California state telehealth law generally requires the patient to be physically located in California at the time of the session when treated by California-licensed clinicians. Shift Support Network is licensed and operates in California. If you are working a location job inside California, you can attend your virtual sessions from set, your trailer, your hotel room, or wherever you have a private connection. If you are on a location job outside California, we walk you through what is and is not possible during the benefit check.
What is the difference between Plan C-1 and Plan C-2?
The Fund uses Plan C-1 and Plan C-2 as the two main coverage tiers, with the tier driven by hours accrued and contractual category over the qualifying period. The two tiers differ in some of the specific cost-share numbers and a few benefit details. We pull your actual tier, deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum from the Fund during the benefit check rather than relying on a generic table on a website.
What about traveling for work outside California?
For care you receive from Shift, the California patient-location rule still applies; we treat patients who are physically in California at the time of the session. If your work takes you out of state for an extended period, we walk through options during the benefit check, including pausing and resuming care around the location job. The Fund's benefit itself is national; the limit is the telehealth licensing rule on our end, not the IATSE plan.
How fast can you verify my benefits?
Same day in most cases if you send us the member ID and group number on the front of your card during business hours. The benefit check itself is no-cost and no commitment.
Verify your benefits in two minutes.
Send us the member ID and group number on the front of your IATSE National Health and Welfare Fund card. We come back with your specific out-of-network deductible, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximum, and what a typical week of intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization-intensity care would cost you. No commitment until you decide.
If you or someone you are with is in immediate danger, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. Shift Support Network is an outpatient program and is not an emergency service. Substance use treatment records are protected by 42 CFR Part 2.