DIVORCE, Health Insurance
| Insurance Q.& A. : DIVORCE, Health Insurance |
What do I do if I'm getting divorced and I'm covered by my spouse's health insurance? One key issue that divorcing couples must consider is how the separation will affect their health-insurance coverage. If one spouse in insured through the other spouse's employer, COBRA will allow continued coverage for approximately 18 months in most cases. The coverage cost plus up to 2% will be billed to the discontinued spouse. According to "The New Century Family Money Book" (Dell Publishing), "Divorcing couples need to assure that they are adequately and continuously covered by health and medical insurance. The obligation to provide health insurance coverage is often included in the separation agreement. If one ex-spouse is fully insured under Social Security, the other is entitled to Medicare at age 65 as long as the ex-spouse is also age 65 or over (even if he or she is still working) or is dead." An ex-spouse may also be eligible to collect full Social Security disability benefits if the other spouse is eligible. |
