How Divorce Can Affect Your Health Insurance
Divorce changes a lot of things for many people. There are a lot of emotionally charged, important changes and decisions to be made in the wake of a divorce. And while big changes like changes in home address and child custody may be dominating your thoughts, there are many less-visible impacts that can hit as well. Health insurance coverage, or, more specifically, the loss of health insurance coverage, can be one of those lesser-anticipated impacts. When your world feels chaotic or difficult to manage, having one more unexpected hurdle to deal with can feel overwhelming. But experienced divorce attorneys know what to anticipate, and can help you through any hurdle that might come your way.
Read on for some general discussion on the effect divorce can have on health insurance coverage. For experienced, nuanced advice on your own divorce and any issues you might face moving forward, contact an experienced divorce attorney at the Law Office of Bradley S. Sandler.
Divorce Can Impact Health Insurance
Divorce can affect a person in a great number of ways, including health insurance coverage. Understanding that you might lose access to your health insurance coverage is important, as it can help you plan ahead for necessary steps to take as you move forward into your new future.
Divorce can affect health insurance in a number of ways.
- Non-Employee Spouse
Many families are on a health insurance plan sponsored by the employer of one of the spouses. When a couple divorces, the non-employee spouse is usually disqualified from accessing this coverage. The non-employee spouse needs to anticipate this probability and look into what other options are available to them.
Many divorcing spouses are able to become insured via employer-sponsored plans of their own employer. Alternatively, privately purchased plans are also available.
- COBRA Coverage
If you were receiving health insurance because of your spouse under COBRA, you have options available to you. Under federal law, a non-employee former spouse who qualified for COBRA coverage prior to divorce may continue to qualify for coverage for up to three years.
While this is a possibility, it is important to consider other options that are available to you. Continuing Cobra coverage can be expensive, and the covered individual will have to continue paying the entire COBRA premium, without the employer contributions, for the duration of coverage. Even if you do decide to continue under COBRA, other options should be explored as the coverage has a cap of three years.
- Child Coverage
Divorce will not usually affect the health insurance coverage of your children. In California, parents are required to insure their children. If one parent has been providing health insurance to their child via their employer, the courts may require that parent to continue providing that coverage. The other parent should also expect to share in the cost of providing for their children’s medical needs. An experienced divorce attorney with the Law Office of Bradley S. Sandler can help guide you through the specifics of your own case.
Contact the Bradley S. Sandler Law Firm
Contact an experienced divorce attorney at the Law Office of Bradley S. Sandler for help in your own divorce case. We have helped countless clients assess the details of their own circumstances and strategically chart a path forward. Contact our office today to begin working with our team.
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