If you are going through a divorce, you undoubtedly know the extreme toll it can take on a person’s physical and emotional health. After all, divorce is stressful, and stress tends to lead to negative health outcomes. Indeed, according to Healthgrades Marketplace, divorce can cause increases in heart rate and blood pressure, weight gain, insomnia and anxiety.
Many Californians have health insurance through their spouse’s employer. While you do not want to leave your soon-to-be ex-spouse high and dry, you also do not want to continue to pay for his or her health coverage. Can you kick your spouse off your health insurance before your divorce concludes, though?
Taking legal action
Even if your husband or wife is healthy, he or she probably does not want to lose health coverage. Regardless of whether you file for divorce or your spouse does, you are likely to have to deal with an automatic temporary restraining order. Among other things, this order is apt to prohibit you from changing your health insurance beneficiaries while your divorce is pending.
If you have a good argument for why your soon-to-be ex-spouse should not continue to be on your health insurance, you can make it to the judge. The judge then can either agree or disagree with you. Nevertheless, you should not take steps to end your spouse’s health insurance without a legal order that gives you permission to do so.
Facing an inevitable future
Most employer-provided health insurance plans do not allow former spouses to receive coverage. Therefore, your spouse eventually must face the inevitable loss of his or her health insurance. Still, the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act generally requires employers to pay for health insurance for the ex-spouses of their employees for up to 36 months. COBRA coverage can be extremely expensive, however.
Ultimately, If you think your soon-to-be ex should no longer receive the health insurance you pay for, you should discuss your concerns with your divorce attorney as soon as possible.
