A big part of setting up everything that needs to be ready for both parties to start a new life after divorce is health insurance. Considering how many people have insurance through their partner’s plan, this is an important concern. Individuals may have access to health insurance after divorce through a number of tools. Keep reading this blog post to learn what those are. And if you are finding your divorce process stressful, remember to call a Suffolk County divorce attorney who will help you get to the end of this difficult road.
Children’s Health Insurance Amid Divorce
Unlike divorcing spouses, children should not be in any danger of losing their insurance once the divorce has been finalized. Your children will still be eligible for coverage either through yourself or your ex. In fact, statutory law in New York requires both parents to pitch in for the cost of the children’s coverage. Noncustodial parents who pay for their children’s health insurance are only required to do so as long as they pay child support for the corresponding child.
If your child is younger than 19 and is a resident of New York state, they will have a chance to apply for children’s Medicaid or New York’s Child Health Plus, the state’s health insurance marketplace. Your family’s eligibility for these programs will hinge on the gross income of both parents.
Taking Care of Your Own Health Insurance Needs
Like most states, New York doesn’t require that health insurance companies provide insurance for both exes. Instead, once the divorce is finalized, the spouse who was on the other’s health insurance loses that coverage.
The ex who is removed from a health insurance plan will need to move quickly. By law, they’ll need to acquire health insurance. This may be through their own employer, COBRA, or the state marketplace, the latter established under President Obama.
COBRA refers to a form of insurance, permitted as a brief and transitory measure as the former spouses acclimate to their new lives. You will be able to stay on a COBRA plan for a certain set of time. Although all this sounds great, you will find that these same plans are now considerably costlier, since your employer won’t be contributing a part of the premium anymore. Keep in mind that you can also discuss health insurance options with your ex as a topic of negotiation like any other. Just like alimony can be decided between the two of you, so you will be able to make agreements regarding the costs of health insurance.
