Drake Bell said he no longer qualifies for health coverage through the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan after his union earnings fell short of the threshold, and told his followers not to join the actors guild.
The former Nickelodeon star posted a screenshot of his account on the plan website to his Instagram Stories on Tuesday. It read: "You do not qualify for Health Plan coverage at this time."
A second notice listed $17,480.53 in union-covered pay for the July 2025 to June 2026 period. He was $11,452.47 short of the $28,933 needed for coverage in 2027, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.
Bell wrote that actors can "work steadily for 35 years" and still be turned down, closing the post with a middle finger emoji. He tagged the guild and its president, Sean Astin, and said Astin was "doing a bang up job".
He also asked: "How about stop using actors to run things maybe? They literally just know how to say words in front of a camera."
Actors qualify for the plan in two ways, under the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan eligibility rules. They can reach $28,933 in qualifying pay over the assessment window, or log 108 qualifying work days. The pay threshold is up from $28,090 for 2026, and clearing either test brings 12 months of coverage.
Bell is the latest actor to raise the issue. Jack Haven, who appeared in I Saw the TV Glow and Atypical, appealed for work in a video in September. Haven said they were in "a bit of an emergency situation" and would take almost any job on a set.
Heather Matarazzo, known for The Princess Diaries and Wednesday, wrote on Threads that she was "literally in the same boat right now". She added that she remembered a time when actors did not have to earn a minimum to qualify.
Kay Hanley, the Letters to Cleo singer who performed the singing voice of Josie in Josie and the Pussycats, said on X in June that she was losing her health insurance on 1 July. Her vocal sessions in 2000 were never reported to the union, she said.
Bell starred in Drake & Josh on Nickelodeon for four seasons and has focused on music in recent years, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The Independent said it had reached out to SAG-AFTRA for comment.