I never thought this was a problem untill a friend of mine was telling me I can’t do this. I’m hoping he’s wrong, but still, now I’m too paranoid to call my insurance company to find out.
I just left her on there after the divorce because she needed it (works as a bartender) and she’s still the mother of my child.
It depends on your divorce decree. Does it say you’re supposed to cover her or not?
Most (if not all) group health plans do not allow you to cover an ex-spouse as a dependent. However, your spouse is eligible for 36 months of Cobra - which you could pay for. You’d better contact your HR people, or your insurance company before too much time has passed since the divorce. The longer you wait the more difficult things can get.
Another thing occured to me Shakes. Assuming we’re talking about employer sponsored group health insurance here; you have 60 days from the divorce to notify your plan administrator of the qualifying Cobra event (the divorce is the qualifying event). The plan can drop your ex-spouse and refuse to allow continuation of coverage under Cobra if you’ve not notified them within the 60 day time frame.
And regarding court ordered medical coverage for an ex-spouse: the court order is ordering one ex-spouse to provide medical coverage to the other ex-spouse in some fashion, whether by paying for Cobra coverage or buying private insurance for the ex-spouse. The court order does not require the health plan to allow an individual to continue to cover an ex-spouse as a dependent on their health insurance.
Even if the divorce decree says he’s supposed to pay for her coverage, that doesn’t mean she can remain on his group health plan. I don’t know of any plans that allow that, but she should be able to be covered under COBRA, as Ave Minerva said.
They should allow COBRA as long as you notified them within the required period. It’s possible that even if you tell them now, they will let you switch to COBRA retroactive to the actual date it would have started. Also, you would have to pay the entire portion of the premium for your ex-wife under COBRA; that is, if your employer pays part of the premium for your (and by extension, your wife’s) coverage, they are not required to pay any portion of your wife’s premium after the divorce. Let’s say you had Family coverage to cover you, your wife, and your child. If you get divorced, what is supposed to happen is that you and child go on either Family or preferably Employee + 1, if your company offers it (it’s cheaper than Family), and your ex-wife goes on the plan as a Single person covered under COBRA. Your employer pays the employer portion of the coverage for you and your child and YOU pay the remainder of your and your child’s premium AND the entire portion plus possibly a 2% admin fee of your wife’s coverage. I am not sure if you are allowed to pay for her premium with pre-tax dollars.
That’s a simple explanation. There’s more to it. You should really contact your HR department. If you haven’t notified the employer within 60 days of the divorce, they are within their rights to say, “Sorry, too late.”
Not much to add regarding COBRA, but the only plans I’m familiar with that allow you to cover a non-spousal adult dependent specify that the dependent must live with you and depend on you for support (for example, a domestic partner or elderly parent). I’ve never heard of a plan allowing you to cover a non-related adult non-dependent.
Also, I wouldn’t just “let it go” and do nothing. If your wife has a major claim, you better believe the insurance company is going to make sure she is a valid participant before they pay. If they discover she isn’t, they are going to immediately refund all the premiums you have paid for her and say she never should have been covered in the first place. If they don’t HAVE to pay out $1MM for a liver transplant, they’re not going to.
It’s probably too late for you, but a lawyer has told me that if you get a legal separation instead of a divorce, you can keep her on your insurance indefinitely. She tells me that a legal separation is completely equivalent to a divorce, except that neither party can get married and insurance coverage continues. Then, whenever either party needs to, the legal separation can be converted to a divorce by filling out a simple piece of paper.
Reported.
I think using a website instead of an attorney is a very bad idea … especially a website from Columbia. Every State will have different laws, so I seriously doubt there’s any “one site suits all”.
This thread is quite old as well, I’m guessing some of the information above is outdated, particularly due to the passage of the ACA.
I suggest opening a new thread in the IMHO forum, as legal questions are generally frowned upon here in General Questions. But again, opinions here are no substitute for talking with an attorney who’s familiar with the laws that apply to your divorce case.
Odd.
I’m from Canada, so overall medical is not an issue - everyone is covered. But some employer benefits- dental, prescription especially - are quite valuable. Quite a few years ago, our employer changed benefits companies, and the new one has a policy that they will ask for a signed statement annually assuring them that the covered person is still in the same relationship and situation. (spouse or dependent) It goes without saying that lying on that form can disqualify a person from most benefits if discovered. If you have to certify your family’s benefits eligibility every year, then there’s a good chance a change of status will have them looking back to find out when this changed and if they can recover previously paid out amounts.
Since this involves legal advice, it’s more appropriate for IMHO than GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
And it only took you 12 years to do it! 
Sorry, I overlooked that it was raised by a spammer. Closed.