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Once you’ve finalized your divorce, you could find yourself without health insurance if your employer does offer a benefits package. The spouse who carries family health insurance will likely no longer be able to cover the dependent spouse, as he or she is no longer considered a “family member.”
If you are facing this challenge, there are several options for obtaining health care coverage:
- COBRA coverage: COBRA is a federal law that allows a person covered under a health insurance policy to maintain coverage at his or her own cost for a certain period of time and with certain requirements. If you get divorced, for example, and your spouse had health insurance through his or her employer, the employer would be required to offer you COBRA coverage. You would have to pay the employer’s costs for that policy.
- Coverage through your employer: If your employer does offer health insurance coverage, this is likely going to be the option you choose. It lessens your financial commitment and enables you to quickly become insured once again. However, you should make sure you carefully analyze exactly what type of coverage you have through your employer. Depending on your needs, it might actually be more sensible to go with COBRA.
- Affordable Care Act coverage: If you do not have coverage through your employer, you may apply for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act through Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace (mnsure.org). As you go through the application process, you may also find out if you are eligible for federal aid.
To learn more about your options when it comes to health insurance and a variety of other issues after your divorce, speak with a knowledgeable Minnesota family law attorney at Appelhof, Pfeifer & Hart, P.A.
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