diff --git a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka/ActiveNodeHealthCheck.cs b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka/ActiveNodeHealthCheck.cs
index 97c1801..a9b54d3 100644
--- a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka/ActiveNodeHealthCheck.cs
+++ b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka/ActiveNodeHealthCheck.cs
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
 using Akka.Actor;
 using Akka.Cluster;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.Diagnostics.HealthChecks;
 
+[assembly: InternalsVisibleTo("ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests")]
+
 namespace ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka;
 
 /// <summary>
@@ -10,7 +13,7 @@ namespace ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka;
 /// <see cref="ActiveNodeHealthCheck"/> so the role-less and role-filtered matrices are exhaustively
 /// table-testable without forming a real cluster.
 /// </summary>
-public static class ActiveNodeDecision
+internal static class ActiveNodeDecision
 {
     /// <summary>
     /// Maps the resolved cluster facts to a <see cref="HealthStatus"/>.
@@ -87,7 +90,8 @@ public sealed class ActiveNodeHealthCheck : IHealthCheck
     public ActiveNodeHealthCheck(IServiceProvider serviceProvider, string role)
     {
         _serviceProvider = serviceProvider ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(serviceProvider));
-        _role = role ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(role));
+        ArgumentException.ThrowIfNullOrWhiteSpace(role);
+        _role = role;
     }
 
     /// <inheritdoc />
@@ -119,15 +123,26 @@ public sealed class ActiveNodeHealthCheck : IHealthCheck
         }
 
         var health = ActiveNodeDecision.Evaluate(selfUp, isLeader, hasRole, _role);
-        return Task.FromResult(new HealthCheckResult(health, DescribeResult(health, self.Status)));
+        var description = DescribeResult(health, self.Status, selfUp, isLeader);
+        var result = health switch
+        {
+            HealthStatus.Healthy   => HealthCheckResult.Healthy(description),
+            HealthStatus.Degraded  => HealthCheckResult.Degraded(description),
+            _                      => HealthCheckResult.Unhealthy(description),
+        };
+        return Task.FromResult(result);
     }
 
-    private string DescribeResult(HealthStatus health, MemberStatus status)
+    private string DescribeResult(HealthStatus health, MemberStatus status, bool selfUp, bool isLeader)
     {
         if (_role is null)
-            return health == HealthStatus.Healthy
-                ? "Active node (cluster leader)."
-                : $"Standby node (status: {status}).";
+        {
+            if (health == HealthStatus.Healthy)
+                return "Active node (cluster leader).";
+            return selfUp && !isLeader
+                ? "Standby: node is Up but not the cluster leader."
+                : $"Standby: node is not Up (status: {status}).";
+        }
 
         return health switch
         {
diff --git a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka/AkkaClusterHealthCheck.cs b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka/AkkaClusterHealthCheck.cs
index 3deab3c..74e040b 100644
--- a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka/AkkaClusterHealthCheck.cs
+++ b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/src/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka/AkkaClusterHealthCheck.cs
@@ -45,7 +45,12 @@ public sealed class AkkaClusterHealthCheck : IHealthCheck
         var status = Cluster.Get(system).SelfMember.Status;
         var health = _policy.Evaluate(status);
         var description = $"Akka cluster member status: {status}";
-
-        return Task.FromResult(new HealthCheckResult(health, description));
+        var result = health switch
+        {
+            HealthStatus.Healthy   => HealthCheckResult.Healthy(description),
+            HealthStatus.Degraded  => HealthCheckResult.Degraded(description),
+            _                      => HealthCheckResult.Unhealthy(description),
+        };
+        return Task.FromResult(result);
     }
 }
diff --git a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/ActiveNodeDecisionTests.cs b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/ActiveNodeDecisionTests.cs
index 1296376..7659ba0 100644
--- a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/ActiveNodeDecisionTests.cs
+++ b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/ActiveNodeDecisionTests.cs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ public sealed class ActiveNodeDecisionTests
 
     // Role-filtered: requiredRole != null.
     //   lacks role               -> Healthy (probe irrelevant for this node)
-    //   has role & is leader     -> Healthy
+    //   has role & is leader     -> Healthy (selfUp is ignored — role-filtered mode only cares about leadership)
     //   has role & not leader    -> Degraded
     public static IEnumerable<object[]> RoleFilteredCases() => new[]
     {
@@ -39,8 +39,10 @@ public sealed class ActiveNodeDecisionTests
         new object[] { true, true, false, "admin", HealthStatus.Healthy },
         new object[] { true, false, false, "admin", HealthStatus.Healthy },
         new object[] { false, false, false, "admin", HealthStatus.Healthy },
-        // node carries the role and is leader -> Healthy
+        // node carries the role and is leader -> Healthy (selfUp=true)
         new object[] { true, true, true, "admin", HealthStatus.Healthy },
+        // node carries the role and is leader -> Healthy (selfUp=false: role-filtered mode ignores selfUp)
+        new object[] { false, true, true, "admin", HealthStatus.Healthy },
         // node carries the role but is not leader -> Degraded
         new object[] { true, false, true, "admin", HealthStatus.Degraded },
         new object[] { false, false, true, "admin", HealthStatus.Degraded },
diff --git a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/AkkaClusterStatusPolicyTests.cs b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/AkkaClusterStatusPolicyTests.cs
index 3e2d347..406ac47 100644
--- a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/AkkaClusterStatusPolicyTests.cs
+++ b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/AkkaClusterStatusPolicyTests.cs
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ public sealed class AkkaClusterStatusPolicyTests
         new object[] { MemberStatus.WeaklyUp, HealthStatus.Unhealthy },
         new object[] { MemberStatus.Down, HealthStatus.Unhealthy },
         new object[] { MemberStatus.Removed, HealthStatus.Unhealthy },
+        new object[] { (MemberStatus)99, HealthStatus.Unhealthy },   // unknown / future status
     };
 
     [Theory]
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ public sealed class AkkaClusterStatusPolicyTests
         new object[] { MemberStatus.WeaklyUp, HealthStatus.Degraded },
         new object[] { MemberStatus.Down, HealthStatus.Degraded },
         new object[] { MemberStatus.Removed, HealthStatus.Degraded },
+        new object[] { (MemberStatus)99, HealthStatus.Degraded },    // unknown / future status
     };
 
     [Theory]
diff --git a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests.csproj b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests.csproj
index 615803f..a858d74 100644
--- a/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests.csproj
+++ b/ZB.MOM.WW.Health/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests/ZB.MOM.WW.Health.Akka.Tests.csproj
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" />
     <PackageReference Include="xunit" />
     <PackageReference Include="xunit.runner.visualstudio" />
-    <PackageReference Include="Akka.TestKit.Xunit2" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>
diff --git a/components/health/spec/SPEC.md b/components/health/spec/SPEC.md
index b956c04..6612904 100644
--- a/components/health/spec/SPEC.md
+++ b/components/health/spec/SPEC.md
@@ -150,7 +150,10 @@ plug it into `MapHealthChecks` options and also call it from custom endpoints.
 
 `IActiveNodeGate` is a single-property interface (`bool IsActiveNode { get; }`) that expresses
 whether the current node should accept write / active-role requests. The default implementation,
-`AkkaActiveNodeGate`, delegates to `ActiveNodeHealthCheck`. A `RequireActiveNode()` extension on
+`AkkaActiveNodeGate`, reads cluster state **directly**: `IsActiveNode` returns `true` iff the
+`ActorSystem` is available, `SelfMember.Status == Up`, and the node is the cluster leader. It is
+null-guarded and returns `false` when the `ActorSystem` is not yet ready (safe default during
+startup). It does **not** resolve `ActiveNodeHealthCheck` from DI. A `RequireActiveNode()` extension on
 `IEndpointConventionBuilder` attaches a policy that short-circuits with `503 Service Unavailable`
 on standby nodes.