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Motion Picture Industry Health PlanUsing the Motion Picture Industry Health Plan for virtual outpatient treatment.
The Motion Picture Industry Health Plan covers IATSE crew, DGA Below-the-Line, Teamsters Local 399, and other industry workers and their dependents. Behavioral health runs through Optum. 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.
Active vs Inactive, Plan A vs B vs C.
MPIHP is an hours-based plan. Eligibility is built on industry hours worked under qualifying contracts. The active rule generally requires accruing enough hours over a defined qualifying period to maintain Active status, and benefit tier (Plan A, Plan B, or Plan C) reflects the number of hours accrued. Behavioral health on MPIHP is administered by Optum, which handles authorization, provider network status, and claims for mental health and substance use treatment.
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 through Optum.
What we do for you on the benefits side
- Call MPIHP member services and Optum behavioral 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 to Optum and stay on the case through review and renewal.
- Bill what the plan considers reasonable, so there is no balance-bill surprise later.
Where Shift fits and where the Goldwyn Center fits.
Crew life is long irregular hours, location work, night shoots, hiatus gaps, post-production isolation, and weeks where the schedule changes at 6 a.m. Our cohorts and the MPTF's Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Center for Behavioral Health are two different things. Use the one that fits the moment.
Treatment that travels with you
If you are between gigs, on a location job, or working a schedule that rules out a building-based program, virtual IOP is built for you. Morning, afternoon, or evening cohorts. We can hold the slot through a shoot day and we keep the documentation tight for whoever on your team needs to know, within 42 CFR Part 2 limits and your signed authorization.
Start the benefit check MPTF Goldwyn Center818 876 4140, an independent industry resource
The Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Center for Behavioral Health, operated by the Motion Picture & Television Fund, is an industry-specific behavioral health resource at the MPTF campus in Woodland Hills. They are independent of Shift Support Network. If a member calls Goldwyn and the clinical picture is virtual intensive outpatient, they can refer out to a provider like us. The two paths can also work together; we coordinate care when a member is engaged with both.
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, 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 producer, a UPM, a coordinator, or a department head without your written consent.
Plain-English answers.
I am Active on MPIHP. What does that get me for behavioral health?
Active status on MPIHP means you have accrued enough qualifying hours to be in Plan A, Plan B, or Plan C for the benefit period, and your behavioral health benefit is in effect. Optum administers behavioral health under all three plan tiers. We verify your specific tier and pull the actual out-of-network deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum for behavioral health before you commit.
What if I'm between gigs?
MPIHP eligibility looks at hours over a qualifying period, not just hours in the current week. If you were Active last period and are between gigs now, your benefits may still be in force for the current coverage window depending on the hours you banked. We pull your actual eligibility status during the benefit check so you know exactly where you stand before you start. If your coverage has lapsed, we will tell you that too and walk you through options.
What about a dependent on a member's plan?
Enrolled dependents on MPIHP, including a spouse and eligible children, have the same behavioral health benefit as the member while the member is Active. 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 shoot?
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 shooting in 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 location outside California, we walk you through what is and is not possible during the benefit check.
How does coordination with the Goldwyn Center work?
The Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Center for Behavioral Health is an independent resource operated by the Motion Picture & Television Fund. We are a separate treatment provider. If a member is engaged with both, we coordinate care with the patient's written consent, within 42 CFR Part 2 limits. If you call Goldwyn first and they refer out, we take it from there. If you call us first and a building-based path makes more sense, we will tell you that and route accordingly.
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 MPIHP 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.