Actress Yvette Wilson Battling Terminal Illness, Raising Medical Funds
Popular ’90s comedienne Yvette Wilson is best known for her roles in Friday and as Andell Wilkerson in Moesha and The Parkers. But the tragic story of her recent medical and financial woes is picking up a bit of media steam. Wilson has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cervical cancer and has also experienced kidney failure. She is currently in search of a donor and a fund has been set up in her honor, to defray the mounting costs of her medical care.
You can visit and donate to the Yvette Wilson Fund here. And the NewsOne website has more information on Wilson’s case, as well as what some superstitious fans have begun calling the “Moesha curse.” (Wilson is the fifth cast regular or guest star to meet a fatal or near-fatal circumstance.)
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This is really sad news. I loved her character on “The Parkers”. Not to get off point, but I don’t understand why wealthy celebrities don’t invest a small portion of their salaries on medical insurance. I can understand why some “regular” folks can’t afford it, but if you’re making tens of thousands of dollars per episode, why would you not put a few hundred dollars a month into a good medical ins plan? None of us are going to stay young and healthy forever. I hope those in their 20′s right now are paying close attention to this.
Intellblackman, It doesn’t work that way. We have to work a certain number of weeks/hours a year to even be eligible for our union’s insurance. A certain number of weeks is required for six months of coverage, more for an entire year. Many of us in my performer’s union have NEVER earned enough weeks to get it. The times I’ve had it, I never made enough to pay the ridiculously high COBRA rates after I no longer qualify. Even so, COBRA only lasts for 18 months. She has not worked much so I’m sure she hasn’t qualified for insurance in many, many years and any COBRA benefits she may have had have long since expired.
+1
Not enough education occurs in the the black community regarding sound financial planning. I learned from colleagues of the importance of protecting myself financially. My parents didn’t teach me squat about money, except how to dodge bill collectors….
its so sad she has to face this – i really hope she gets the help she needs – thanks clutch for posting this much needing article
@aDawn,
I think you’re referring to insurance acquired through an employer. I was talking about medical insurance purchased as a “private” individual. Anyone can purchase medical insurance. You don’t have to be employed or a member of any union. You can even be unemployed and still purchase medical insurance. Just think of someone who is self employed. They buy insurance plans all of the time.
Please tell me what insurance plan can be purchased by unemployed folks?
Especially to those whose UE benefits have run out?
It depends on the state one resides in. It is mighty expensive to insurance oneself without any employer though.
I thought insurance only works when you pay for it. So she could have paid for it for 20years if she stop being able to afford it and got sick ,insurance don’t care if how long you paid it and if you got dropped the next day : you on your own.
Have you tried acquiring insurance outside of a union or an employer? It’s almost impossible to get unless you are COMPLETELY healthy. That one bout of depression you had 20 years ago? Denied. A broken bone? Denied. An abnormal pap smear? No insurance for you. Overweight (which she is)? Nope. I know many, many self-employed individuals who don’t have health insurance because they can’t afford the $1,000/month the insurance company wants to charge them because of a (benign) biopsy they had 10 years ago.
Considering she hasn’t worked in almost 10 years (according to IMDB) and “The Parkers” is not being aired in syndication to give her any residual income, she is pretty much like you or me: working so hard just to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head that going without insurance is the gamble you take. If you can’t work enough through SAG/AFTRA/AEA, your opportunities to actually get insurance are slim.
cancer is not a joke, especially when kidneys start to fail.