WWE: High On Image – Low On Health Care Insurance

Lance McNaught had become a vociferous critic of the WWE and the McMahons in the months before his death, arguing that he was dismissed after he asked to be placed in a rehab program in January.
The dismissal, which came in April, was directly related to his asking for help, McNaught had argued.  McNaught also called the company’s wellness program a “joke” and accused Vince McMahon of concerning himself about positive publicity above all else — and disregarding the well-being of wrestlers. Recalling his days as Lance Cade, McNaught not only claimed that it was a well-known fact that there was widespread use of steroids and other illicit drugs, McNaught says he was “encouraged” to take steroids. 
McNaught saw the WWE as an employer whose paramount concern was its public image, holding little regard for the danger its wrestlers face, not only in the ring where injuries are commonplace, but outside the ropes, where drug addiction, mental and various physical afflictions are an everyday part of life. In an interview less than six months before his death, McNaught aimed his anger directly at Vince McMahon, ”Vince’s stance (is) they do all this because they care about the talent. Bull—-. They care about the image of the WWE and you care about the fact that Congress was having … hearings about this. That’s what this comes down to.”
McNaught attacked the WWE on a number of fronts, criticizing its onerous contracts, lack of attention to wrestlers’ health, and accusing the company of focusing solely on image while showing no care for injuries, illnesses and addictions.  The ex-wrestler says WWE would discard performers when they are deemed as to not be profitable for the corporation any longer. Lance’s Dad chalked it up to greed saying that his son “would have cut his arm off for Vince McMahon, but it wasn’t there in return. He don’t care any more than the man in the moon for them, other than as dollar signs.
World Wrestling Entertainment’s health care policy for its wrestlers is clear. The company doesn’t provide any health insurance. This is because wrestlers are “independent contractors,” and not company employees.
Linda McMahon has said that she believes Medicare and social security need to be reformed, but curiously stipulated that the subject of entitlement programs was not a “campaign issue”. As with the WWE’s health care policy, McMahon’s position on how to reform government programs is to not have a position on how to reform government programs.  Lance McNaught is intimately familiar with WWE’s policy on health insurance.  McNaught and his wife found that out the hard way, when the WWE decided to suddenly transfer McNaught from Cincinnati to Louisville, with a baby on the way. His wife, Tanya, had a job in Cincinnati, and health insurance to cover the cost of the pregnancy and delivery, but that safety-net would be erased when they were forced to move. WWE, despite the circumstances, denied any assistance to the McNaughts. The former-wrestler did what he had to do for his family, commuting back and forth between Louisville and Cincinnati.