Posted on 10/13/2026 6:31:59 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
“Drake & Josh” actor Drake Bell is putting SAG-AFTRA on blast after he revealed he does not qualify for health insurance.
On his Instagram Story on Tuesday, Bell posted a screenshot of the SAG-AFTRA health plan website that says “you do not qualify for Health Plan coverage at this time. Your reported covered earnings from July 2025-June 2026 did not meet minimum eligibility requirements, or you did not qualify other eligibility rules.”
The webpage says that Bell has earned $17,480.53 and that he needs $11,452.47 more to qualify by reaching the $28,933 required for the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan.
“Do not become an actor. Do not join SAG. You can work for 35 years and they still say [middle finger emoji],” Bell wrote on the screenshot. He then tagged SAG-AFTRA and its president, “Lord of the Rings” and “The Goonies” actor Sean Astin, in his scathing message.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
The webpage says that Bell has earned $17,480.53 and that he needs $11,452.47 more to qualify by reaching the $28,933 required for the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan.
Hey Drake, just wait til “Medicare for all” takes effect, you will be paying even more and waiting 3-4 yrs to see a doc
That’s OK. Most films are going to be 100% AI in the very near future.
I thought Zero fixed this. He should be a good little liberal and sign up for Obamacare affordable healthcare LOL.
AFAIK he fell off the radar after that one Nick TV show he was in.
Very few actors seem to get all the work. Child stars often have hard time earning enough acting in adulthood.
Probably one of the most liberal/communist organization in the world plus a union, SAG should be a utopia and providing it for free.
Maybe it sucks for you personally but RULES ARE RULES. They’re the same for everyone.
Maybe it sucks for you personally but RULES ARE RULES. They’re the same for everyone.
98%+ actors do not earning enough from acting to support themselves. It is just a nice gif to do on the side. Work a couple of hours and earn a few hundred dollars.
Is he one of the many victims of that Nickelodeon child molester?
Looking at IMDB he was a child actor that never made it. He should have figured out long ago that acting wasn’t his thing. He could have turned that money he earned as a kid into a great education, a business or something he didn’t suck at.
Why get mad at SAG? Should the minimum be $2000? $24.95? Maybe just under $17,480.53 so he’d qualify? Seems like a clear message that he needs to find a new profession.
Was he the fat one or the other one?
Never heard of him. I glanced at his Wikipedia. He is the same as any other part-time worker whining about how he deserves full-time benefits. No sympathy, pay for your own insurance if you don’t want to work more for SAG. Marry a spouse with a 9-to-5 job so you have regular coverage. Sheesh, such entitlement.
I used to watch “Drake and Josh” with my son. It was amusing. Josh has done considerably better with his acting career. Drake needs to accept the fact that the career he had as a youth isn’t coming back, and move on to something else. Plenty of child actors have done that. Jay North, if I recall correctly, became a prison guard. Johnny Whittaker worked as a customer service agent.
I saw that in the theater as a first run with some like minded friends. We laughed our butts off.
If washed up Nickelodeon kids can’t afford healthcare...
Wait . What comes next? Is it too high or is he too poor?
I mean other people who aren’t actors can still afford insurance, right?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.