If you are in the middle of a divorce and suddenly find that your health insurance has been terminated you may feel angry, frustrated and not know which way to turn. Divorce can conceivable cause major issues with health insurance benefits as most families, even when both parents work, have their health insurance with one of the other's employer, usually the one who has the best benefits. After a divorce, the employer will usually cancel the coverage for the former spouse as they are no longer a "family member" who can take advantage of the typical family policy. If you find yourself in need of after divorce health insurance, you do have a few options, although none of them are especially great.
COBRA
Once you and your spouse are divorced, you are eligible to apply for COBRA benefits, which is basically the federal law which entitles you to continued coverage in an employer's group health plan, even if you've become ineligible through divorce. You will be responsible for paying the entire premium for your coverage, however, and the employer who sponsors the health care plan will no longer have any responsibility. Remember too, that COBRA does not send you a monthly statement, neither does the employer. If you forget to pay your COBRA benefits, you will be canceled so make sure you remember to pay the premiums.
Employer-provided Medical Insurance
If your employer currently provides a health insurance plan, this will be your best bet because it will at least partially be subsidized by the employer and you won't have to pay the entire premium like you will with COBRA. If you are currently working, this is a good option. If you have just taken a new job where your health insurance won't kick in for a period of time, you will need to have COBRA as a "bridge" insurance to fill the gap.
Individual Medical Insurance
Health insurance policies are available directly from insurance companies; the advantage is that you can shop around and get exactly the coverage you want and need, while the disadvantage is that, again, you are responsible for paying the entire premium.
Medicare
Medicare provides mandatory basic hospitalization benefits for all U.S. citizens over the age of 65, so if you happen to fall in this age bracket, you will want to consider Medicare even though it typically covers only half of the average senior citizen's health care bills, but may be supplemented with Medigap.
Health Insurance as Divorce Settlement
Your final option may be to ask for health insurance coverage as part of the settlement. While there is no guarantee the courts will grant this request, is is certainly worth discussing with your attorney. Many divorced wives are so focused on alimony payments that they fail to take into consideration the value of having their ex pay for health insurance coverage for them. Your attorney could either try to make your ex responsible for paying your COBRA payments, or for the cost of obtaining new health insurance for you. COBRA typically costs from $650 to $750 per month--a substantial amount, especially for a newly divorced woman.
Legal Help
You should have an experienced divorce attorney on your side--one who is aggressive and will fight hard for your rights, especially those concerning your important health care costs. A skilled divorce attorney will know all the divorce laws specific to your state, and will keep up on any changes in the laws, making it very cost-effective in the long run for you to retain an attorney at the earliest possible time in your divorce.
