Health Insurance and Divorce
During a divorce, one of the things you’ll have to include in your Parenting Plan is health insurance coverage for your children. Health insurance is included in the state’s requirement that each parent provide financially for their children.
Decide Who Will Provide Coverage
The first thing you should decide is which parent will provide health insurance coverage. Often, the decision is made by comparing the amount of the premium and the coverage that each parent has access to, usually through employment. If neither parent can offer coverage through employment, other options include Medicaid, health insurance purchased through the exchange, or health-sharing plans.
If you are the parent providing health insurance coverage, the amount of the children’s premium is included on the child support worksheet.
Purchase Coverage
Even if open enrollment is over, divorce is considered a qualifying life event. This makes you eligible for a 60-day Special Enrollment Period. If your spouse is required to provide coverage, but fails to do so, talk to your attorney about a Qualified Medical Child Support Order. This allows a non-employee parent to obtain health insurance coverage for the child from the employee’s group health plan.
Include Provisions for Access to Health Insurance
If both parents have parenting time, they should each have a copy of the children’s health insurance card. I like to include a requirement that the parent providing coverage will give the other parent copies of the insurance card within 30 days of any changes or renewals. This can then be enforced via contempt or a Motion to Enforce.
Determine Who Will Pay for Copays, Deductibles, and Additional Medical Expenses
In addition to premium costs, your Parenting Plan should outline how non-covered medical expenses paid. This includes copays, deductibles, and medical treatments that are not covered by insurance.
2023 UPDATES
In 2023, Colorado’s child support statute was updated. Among other changes, the statute now requires the parent who provides health insurance coverage to give the insurance company name, phone number, group number, policy number, and claim address to the other parent. If the parent providing coverage fails to do this, they can be fined.
If you are the parent who does not provide coverage, and you can’t get it from the other party, the statute also now works as a release of information. This means that, if you know the insurance company, you can contact the insurnace company directly and obtain the group number, policy number, or claim address.
Finally, the statute now requires that the parent providing coverage let the other parent and child support enforcement (if applicable) know within 14 days if insurance coverage changes or ends.
Have more questions about health insurance coverage and divorce? Katelyn is here to provide answers!