ex-wife on my health insurance

[dawngreg]

What is the name of your state? Massachusetts
It was agreed upon in my divorce that my ex wife could remain on my health insurance for as long as it is available to me and any out of pocket costs for her being on it would have to be paid by her. Today my insurance company tells me they didn't realize she was my ex wife and she shouldn't have been covered at all since the divorce. They cancelled her insurance right then. Can they do that? What should I do now? Can she bring me back to court?

 

[cbg]

I'm assuming that this is insurance through your employer?

It is extremely rare for an ex-spouse to be a covered dependent on a group policy. Unless the policy spells out that former spouses are eligible for coverage (and it sounds as if that is NOT the case) then they have no legal obligation to provide coverage for her. The divorce decree is binding on you, not on them. Yes, they can cancel her coverage. I worked for five years for a national insurance carrier and this was a common occurance.

What you need to do now is purchase an individual policy on her, and quickly. I very much doubt that the divorce decree spelled out specifically what policy she was to be covered on; only that you provide health insurance coverage. As long as you provide a policy for her, you're in the clear. But you want to do it very, very fast; the last thing you want is for her to schedule a doctor's appointment tomorrow and have payment declined.

 

[Kansas4me]

But if the decree said " as long as it was available to me" then wouldn't he be free and clear, because it is no longer available for him?

 

[cbg]

Huh?

They cancelled HER coverage, not his.

 

[nextwife]

An employer is a third party, and under almost all group plans is NOT obligated to provide health coveragefor a person not your spouse (or maybe significant other/"partner").

Unless your decree states that you are to indefinately maintain her health coverage, or that you must buy a plan IF she cannot be covered under your plan you are likely not required to purchase an individual poilicy. DO call your attorney and ask what he believes you are obligated to do PER YOUR DECREE - and you do need to immediately notify your ex to get out there and and arrange health care or find a job that provides it IF your decree obligation has ended. Many of us work primarilly to access reasonable health insurance.

I'm amazed that neither of your attorney's recognized that you would be unlikely to continue her coverage once divorced. She should have been making arrangements at the time of the divorce so that she'd have health care in place when yours ended. My widowed mom went back to work and then worked into her late 60s just to have health insurance.

 

[Kansas4me]

Huh?

They cancelled HER coverage, not his.

Right so coverage for HER is no longer available! If it meant he would then have to go out and get a policy on his own for her, then what good would "while it is available" do? There are always individual/private policies available!

 

[Theresalee]

I was also in the medical billing field and I agree with nextwife. Make sure you contact your attorney to be on the safe side!!
Also we were required to keep a child on our medical plan as long as it was available but then it cleary stated we were to half any expenses that were not covered. I realize a child is different then an ex but the wording clearly stated what was to be done if that coverage wasn't available. just my opinion.

 

[cbg]

I'm not going to try to second guess the wording of a decree I haven't read.

I am telling you what, in my experience, the majority of cases have required.

 

[Marlena]

Ex-wife on health insurance

I think what has been referred to here in Massachusetts is Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 175, Section 110 (I). The Husband shall mantain his exsisting group medical insurance policy as provided by his employer for the benefit of the wife as long as the wife is eligible under this law. In the event that the Wife is no longer eligible for coverage, the Husband shall provide the Wife with 30 days written notice, and in that event, if the Wife's continued coverage requires an additional premium, the Wife, at her option, may maintain said coverage so long as she pays the additional premium.

Should the husband remarry,the ex-wife can still receive benefits as are available to the member, by means of the addition of a rider to the family plan or the issuance of an individual plan, either of which may be at additional premium rates. In other words the wife may still be covered but she will have to pay the entire premium.

This law differs from Cobra in that with Cobra you are only covered for 36 months. With this Massachusetts General Law it can be indefinite.

However, in order to be eligible it must be spelled out in the divorce agreement and also the insurance plan must be an INSURED plan. A SELF-INSURED plan is excempt from Massachusetts Law and then only Cobra would apply.

If anyone is interested just do a search and type in: Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 175, Section 110 (I) and you'll find it there. I think only Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the states who have this other option for divorced or separated spouses and continued health insurance coverage.